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PORTRAITS 



1. C'liarlcB R. Flint. Uiiittni Stall-. 
•,'. A. Velordi', Hoi i via. 
.i. .John n. Henderson. United SUUts. 
I. Melchor ( (barrio, Bolivia. 
■">. M. M. Esti-i". UnittHl States. 
<'•. M. Valdiviexo, Salvador. 
T. Clem. Stndehaker, United State.*, 
it. C. N. Blies. United States. 
10. Carlos M. Silva, Colombia. 



From a Photograph (Copyrighted ]| 

OF THE DELEGATES TO THE INTERl 



11. J. Castellanos, Salvador, 
la. Jose M. Hiirtado, Colombia. 

13. J. Arrieta Rossi. Salvador. 

14. Climaco Calderon. Colombia. 

15. John F. Hanson, United States. 

16. Richard Villafrnnca. Costa Rica. 

17. E. C. Fiallos. Honduras. 

18. F. C. C. Zegarra. Peru. 

19. Henry G. Davis, United States. 



20. F. A. Silva, Vene;< 

21. Alberto Nin, UruLi 

22. Layfayette R. PerJ 

23. J. de F. Vasconce; 

24. F. Cruz, Gnatema 

25. J. A. F. da Costa. I 

26. Matios Romero, W 

27. J. Zelaya. Ilondni 

28. J. G. do Amaral "N' 



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by C. M. Bell, Washington, D. C. 

.TIONAL OR PAN-AMERICAN 



Brazil. 
Brazil. 



:e, Brazil. 



29. Hon. J. G. Blaine, United Statoi- 

30. M. de Mendouca, Brazil. 

31. S. de Meudonca, Brazil. 

S2. N. Bolet Peraza. Venezuela. 

33. Carlos S. Martins, Brazil. 

34. Juan P. Velorde. Bolivia. 

35. N. B. Monegas, Venezuela. 

37. H. Guzman, Nicarasuu 

38. M. Aragon, Costa Rica. 



CONGRESS, I889-90. 



39. A. A. Adee, United States. 

40. Walker Blaine, United States. 

41. J. B. Moore, United States. 

42. M. Velorde, Bolivia. 

43. Lieut. H. P. Lemley. United States Army. 

44. Capt. J. G. Burke, United States Army. 

45. William H. Trescot, United States. 

46. J. FennerLee, United States. 




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^AQ,^;,^ CM-^^^^^-laJZ--^-^. /-^o^^?^^^ b—/ 




THE COUNTRIES 



OF 



The Western VeRiiB. 

THE GOVERNMENTS ANB PEOPLE 

OF 

North, South and Central America, 

FROM THE LANDING OF COLUMBUS TO THE PRESENT TIME, 

PEN AND PENCIL PICTURES 

OF THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC, THEIR NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED 
RESORTS, THE STORY OF OUR MARVELLOUS PROGRESS AND GROWTH 
AS A NATION ; WITH PICTURESQUE SKETCHES OF 

OUR CONTINENT BEYOND THE STATES 

COMPRISING 

VIEWS IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA, HER PROVINCES AND CITIES ; THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO ; 

CUBA, THE GEM OF THE ANTILLES ; THE BAHAMA ISLANDS, AND AI I, THE COrNTRIES 

OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA, THEIR CAPITALS AND SHAPOKTS. 



A G-rand, Descriptive, Historical and Statistical Work. 

PREPARED BY 

BENSON J. LOSSING, LL.D., 

AUTHOU OP "THE PICTORIAL FIELD BOOK OP THE REVOLUTION," "THE WAR OF 1812," "A HISTORY OF THE UNITED 

STATES FOR SCHOOLS," "THE CIVIL WAR," "LIVES OF EMINENT AMERICANS," "THE HOME OF WASHINCiTON," 

"LOSSING's BOOK OP THE HUDSON," "oUR COUNTRY," "THE GREAT REPUBLIC OF THE WEST," ETC., 

AND OTHER WELL-KNOWN WRITERS. 



ILLUSTRATED 



WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SCENERY 01>: 
WONDERLANDS AND PLACES OF PICTURESQUE 
AND HISTORIC INTEREST. 



NEW Y O K K : 

GAY BROTHERS & CO., 

30, 32, 34 READE STREET. 
1890. 




T.I«T OK AUTHORS. 

BENSON' J. LOSSING, LL.D. 
Our Nation ; The Story of Its Progress and Growth. 



GEO. J. HAGAR. 
Beyond the States. 



A. H. GEURNSEY, Ph. D. 

AND 

JOHN E. REED. 
Great Wonderlands of Our Republic. 



Copyrighted. iSqo. by Gay, Brothers cS: CCc 



PREFACE. 

The present is an auspicious time to present to the public a work 
showing at one view the wonderful development and progress of the 
countries of the western world, together with the marvellous scenery 
of our wonderlands and resorts. 

The volume in hand contains a concise and rapid review of all 
the nations of our continent, including the story of Our Nation's 
Progress and Growth, giving in interesting and entertaining form the 
salient points of our national development from the discovery of the 
continent to the present time. This cannot fail to be of great value 
to the busy reader who has not the time to devote to more extensive 
works. It may be depended upon as accurate and reliable, the 
description of each event having been carefully verified as to its his- 
torical correctness. 

While the great republic of the West has made such rapid strides 
in her national progress, sister republics have arisen upon her southern 
border, and in Central and South America, modelled upon her Consti- 
tution. The lands of the Montezumas and the Incashave taken on a 
new type of civilization. Customs and traditions, transplanted from 
the countries of Europe to their American colonies, have been modi- 
fied and transformed by the blending of the races until the sovereign 
nations first represented in the Pan-American Congress, held at Wash- 
ington, D. C, in 1890, have displayed the great fact that they are all 
together moving forward to a common destiny. The spirit of unity 
and of peaceful arbitration, as well as of commercial reciprocity urged 
by this Congress upon the respective governments represented there- 
in, shows a tendency to continental unity of aim. 

In order that the general reader may become fully informed upon 
their condition, political, commercial, and social, interesting chapters 
of a historical and descriptive nature have been introduced showing 
the form of government, with statistics respecting the educational 
facilities, military and naval forces, and religious condition of these 
nations of the western hemisphere which lie beyond the United 



iv PREFACE. 

States. The dominion of Canada on the north, and Cuba, " the Key 
to the Antilles," with the Bahama Islands, have each been treated in 
chapters specially assigned to them. 

An interesting portion of the work is specially devoted to the 
natural scenery presented by ocean, lake, mountain, and river through- 
out the great "Wonderlands of Our Republic." These have long 
attracted the admiration of the native and foreign tourist, and awaken- 
ed an intense desire in all classes of readers to become better ac- 
quainted with the majestic wonders and varied scenes of our land. 
These chapters, which include the celebrated resorts of the United 
States, are surrounded with picturesque and historic interest to all 
readers. To those who have had the time and opportunity to visit 
all or any of these famous places, a perusal of these sketches will 
awaken pleasant recollections and renew the thrilling sensations of 
grandeur and sublimity which the scenes themselves at first aroused. 
While for that large class of our readers who have not had the oppor- 
tunity of personally viewing them, these pen and pencil pictures 
will, in large measure, supply the place of actual visitation. While to 
those contemplating a visit to any of our celebrated resorts, an op- 
portunity is offered to make themselves familiar with the peculiar 
charms of each. 

The historic, descriptive, and picturesque features of this work 
cannot fail to most highly recommend it to all readers. This work is 
therefore published for readers of every class, with the belief that it 
will satisfy the renewed interest in the wonderful achievements of our 
Continent, everywhere rich in noble names and grand events ; and also 
Avith the assurance that it will furnish much desired information upon 
those subjects which are valuable to every American — in the broadest 
sense of that word — who believes in the grand future awaiting this 
Western Hemisphere of Republics. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface iii 

List of Illustrations ........... xxv 



The Great IVonderlaiids of Our Republic: 

NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 

NEW ENGLAND COAST SCENES— The Coast Line— The Proposed Tour- 
Route Selected — Long Island Sound — Newport — Location — Former Naval Station — 
The Round Tower — Various Attractions — Open to All — Population — Nantasket Beach 
— Plymouth — Miles Standish — The " Mayflower " — Early Settlement of Plymouth — 
Natural Features — Pilgrim Rock — Plymouth Hall — Cape Cod — Form — Area — Deriva- 
tion of its Name — Sand — Cranberry Marshes — Villages — Provincetown — Fisheries — 
Whales — Characteristic Scenes — New Bedford — Decline of the Whale Fisheries — 
Manufactures — Buzzard's Bay and Vicinity — Wood's Holl — Martha's Vineyard — Dis- 
covery — Attractions — Cottage City — Gay Head — Nantucket — Geological Formation — 
Discovery — Settlement by Thomas Macey — Fisheries — Population — "The Garden of 
Eden " — Climate — Sanitary Condition — Return to Boston — Lowell — John Eliot — 
Cotton Mills — Lake Winnipiseogee — Early Notices — Later Descriptions — Portland — 
Mount Desert Island — Area — Natural Features -Growing Importance — As a Pleasure 
Resort — Prosperity, 53 

THE WHITE MOUNTAINS— Location— First Visit by White Men— Increasing 
Popularity — Various Attractions — Ascent of Mount Washington — Magnificent Scenery 
—The Notch and Vicinity — Franconia Mountains — Other Attractions, ... 97 

THE RANGELEY LAKES— Location— Number— Names— Attractions of the 
Region — Routes — The Dixville Notch, 104 

ALONG THE HUDSON— The Hudson River— Navigation— Scenery— Pali- 
sades— The Tappan Zee — " Sunnyside " — " Sleepy Hollow" — Nyack — Sing Sing — The 
Croton Aqueduct — " Treason Hill " — Peekskill — The Highland Region — West Point 
— Constitution Island — Cornwall — Newburg — Poughkeepsie — Other Cities — Claverack 
Valley — Albany— The Capitol Building — Feudal System — Troy, 106 

THE ADIRONDACS— Location— Elevation— A Wild Region— Mountains- 
Lakes and Ponds — TraveUing — Routes — General Aspect, 119 

THE REGION OF THE CATSKILLS— Location— Routes Thereto— CatskiU 
— Kingston — Fame of the Catskills — Attractions — Mountain Views— Railroads and 



VI. 



CONTENTS. 



Stage Lines — Sunset Rock — Overlook Mountain — The Wallkill Valley — New Paltz — 
Sky Top — Lake Mohonk — Lake Minnewaska, 120 

SARATOGA SPRINGS— A Famous Resort— Hotels— Historic Events— Mineral 
Springs — Attractions — Saratoga Lake — Mt. McGregor — Population, . . . . 128 

LAKE GEORGE — A Democratic Resort — Location and History — Attractions of 
the Region — Summer Population, 132 

CHAUTAUQUA — Location — Elevation — Resorts — Educational Centre — Build- 
ings — Schools — Recreations, .136 

AUSABLE CHASM— Location— Falls— The Chasm— A Pleasant Boat-ride, 138 

CHATEAUGAY CHASM— Location— Lakes in the Vicinity— Description of the 
Chasm — Effects of the Imagination — Rainbow Basin — Giant Gorge —Vulcan's Cave — 
Other Attractions — Increasing Popularity, 140 

WATKINS GLEN— Situation— Scenery— Cascades— The Iron Bridge— Hotel- 
Art Gallery — The Cathedral — Various Attractions, 144 

NIAGARA FALLS — Volume of Water — Adequate Description Impossible — 
Niagara River — Earliest Mention of Falls — How the Falls were Formed — Rate of 
Retrocession — Goat Island — Width and Form of the Falls — Cave of the Wmds — 
The New York State Park — The Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park — Bridges Across 
the River — Below the Falls — The Whirlpool — Villages, 149 

THE THOUSAND ISLANDS— The St. Lawrence River— The Rapids- 
Steamers — The Morning Hours — Various Islands — Alexandria Bay — Round Island 
Park — Thousand Island Park — Evening Scenes — Cottages — Westminster Park — On 
the River Banks — The Long Sault — Lake St. Francis — Through the Rapids — Victoria 
Bridge — Montreal, 160 

CRESSON — Location — Elevation — Hotels and Cottages — Forests — Roads — Me- 
dicinal Springs, 172 

LEWISTOWN NARROWS— The Home of Logan— Natural Curiosities— Indus- 
tries — Institutions and Buildings — Formation of the Narrows, 172 



CONTENTS. vii. 

THE HORSESHOE CURVE— Up Grade— A Peculiar Curve— Across the 
Chasm — A Curious Delusion, 174 

GREENWOOD LAKE — Location — Area— Numerous Attractions — Camping Out 
— Scenery, . ♦ 176 

CONEY ISLAND — Area and Location — Discovery — Early History — As a Plea- 
sure Resort — New Attractions — Elements of Popularity — Iron Piers — Hotels — Four 
Divisions, 177 

LONG BRANCH — Location — Attractions — Original Settlement — The Beach — 
Hotels — Various Sections, t8o 

ASBURY PARK AND OCEAN GROVE— Location of Asbury Park— Purchase 
of the Land — Incorporation — Beach — Hotels — Lakes — Ocean Grove — Management 
— Attractions — Population, 181 

ATLANTIC CITY — Climatic Advantages — Location — Railroad Connections — 
Churches and Newspapers — Various Attractions, 185 

CAPE MAY CITY — Location — Early Settlement— Attractions— Cape May Point 
— Bathing Facilities — City Avenues — Hotels and Cottages, 186 

OLD POINT COMFORT— CHmate— Location— Fortress Monroe— Hampton- 
Neighboring Localities — Social Enjoyments, 188 

THE WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS— Location— How reached— Mountain 
Peaks — Medicinal Spring — Popularity — Climate — Hotels and Cottages — Hot Springs 
— Healing Springs — Sweet Springs — Red Sulphur Springs — Scenery, . . . . 191 

JEKYL ISLAND — Location — Former Popularity — Recent Pur-chase — Improve- 
ments — Management — Attractions— Climate, 193 

ST. JOHN'S RIVER— Rise and Course— Steamboat Trip— Orange Groves — 
Lake George — Luxuriant Vegetation — Stopping Places — The Everglades — Florida 
as a Winter Resort, i95 

TEXAS AND THE GREAT SOUTHWEST — Scenery — The St. Louis 
Bridge — The Meramec River — The Iron Mountain — Pilot Knob Mountain— The 



viii. CONTENTS. 

Ozark Mountain Section — Beautiful Scenes — The Black River — Little Rock — Hot 
Springs — Medicinal Character of the Waters — Scenic Beauty — Increasing Popularity 
— Texas — Area — Elevation — Soil — Attractions for the Sportsman — Agricultural Pro- 
ductions — Austin — The Capitol Building — San Marcos — San Antonio — Rapid Devel- 
opment—Historical Associations — Natural Bridge — Fort Worth — Court House— The 
Brazos River — Big Springs — Approaching the Rocky Mountains — The Sierra Blanca 
Mountains — El Paso — Attractions — El Paso del Norte — Fort Bliss — Ysleta, . 200 

SCENES IN NEW MEXICO— Characteristics of the Region— An Ancient 
Country — A Trip from Embudo — Fernandez de Taos — Indian Festival — The Pueblo 
de Tao» — The Future of the Section, 226 

HERE AND THERE IN THE (tREAT WEST— Starting Point— Warrens- 

• burg — Agricultural Operations — Great American Desert— Oklahoma — Scenes in Illinois 

— In the Vicinity of Ottawa — Deer Park Clen — Bailey's Falls — Iowa — Spirit Lake — 

Little Spirit Lake — West Okoboji Lake — Minnesota — Lake Minnetonka — Detroit 

Lake — Dakota — Lake Minnevvakan, or Devil's Lake, 229 

THE ROCKIES AND BEYOND— Nature of the Scenery— The Pioneer— 
Leadville — Methods of Travel — Mountain of the Holy Cross — Georgetown — Green 
Lake — Bow Knot Loop — Gray's Peak — The Canons of Colorado — Cheyenne 
Canons — Manitou Springs — Pike's Peak — Rainbow Falls — Garden of the Gods — 
Toltec Gorge — Garfield Memorial — Grand Canon of the Arkansas — The Royal Gorge 
— A Steep Grade — Gunnison — Crested Butte — Grotesque Figures — Idaho Springs — 
Location — Attractions — Medicinal Springs — The Chicago Lakes — Echo Lake — Hunt- 
ing Grounds— The North Park— The Middle Park— The South Park— The San Luis 
Park — Elevation and Attractions — A Wild Region — The Green River and Vicinity 
— Evanston — Echo Canon — Tunnel and Bridges — Pillars of Rock — Castle Rock — 
Fossil Remains— Rugged Cliffs— Pulpit Rock— The Old Wagon Road— The Weber 
Valley — Weber Canon — The Devil's Slide — A Famous Tree — The Salt Lake Valley 
— A Magnificent Region — Should be Visited by Americans, 247 

UTAH AND THE GREAT SALT LAKE— An Interesting Section— Moun- 
tain Ranges — Elevations — Sharp Contrasts — Salt Lake City — Evidences of Prosperity 
— The Great Salt Lake — Chemical Constituents of the Water— Density — Area of the 
Lake — Islands — Steamers — Canons, 297 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK— Early Visitors— Scientific Exploration 
— Reservation by Congress — Form and Area — Elevation — Rivers — Railroads — Mam- 



CONTENTS. ix. 

moth Hot Sj)rings — Dead Springs — The Geysers — Cireat Geyser Basin — Giant 
Geyser — Other Important Geysers — Mud Volcano — Yellowstone River — -Falls of the 
Yellowstone — Yellowstone Lake — The Grand Canon — Massive Pillars — Gorgeous 
Colors — Falls of Tower Creek — Other Attractions — Governmental Supervision — A 
Trip to the Park, 303 

THE YOSEMITE VALLEY— Location— Discovery by White Men— Reserved 
by the Government — Roads — Area — Height of the Walls — El Capitan — Other Attrac- 
tions — The Yosemite Falls — Falls of the Merced River — Wonders of the Tenaya 
Canon — Points of View — The Mariposa Grove — Discovery of the "Big Trees" — 
Where They Grow, 31S 

THE COLUMBIA RIVER REGION— Course of the River— Magnificent 
Scenery — Rapids — The Great Dalles — Mount Hood — The Cascades — Multnomah 
Falls — Pillars of Hercules — Cape Horn — The Grande Ronde Valley— The Willamette 
Falls — Canal and Locks — Portland — Astoria — Fisheries — A Trip to Puget Sound — 
Mount Tacoma, 322 

ALASKA — Largely an Unknown Land — Location — Area — Shore Line — Trip by 
Steamer — Mountains — Glaciers — Mineral Springs — Rivers — The Yukon River — For- 
ests — Climate — Hunting and Fishing — The Mines — Sitka — Population — Indians — 
Totem Poles — The Cathedral — Government Buildings — A Sad Story — The Return 
Trip — An Interesting Region, 335 



CONTENTS. 



Our Nation: The Story of Its Progress and Growth, 

INTRODUCTION. 

Our Position — The Past and the Present — An Unending Conflict — Self-Govern- 
ment by the People an Experiment — Opposing Forces — A Wonderful History — The 
Formative Period — -George Washington — Remarkable Development^ — Second War with 
England — Indians Subdued — Jealous of Foreign Powers — Slavery Overthrown — A Free 
Land — The Mission of the Country— The only Source of Danger, . . . 347-356 

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 

Progress and Growth of the Nation — Settlement at Jamestown — Experiences 
of the Colonists — Establishment of Representative Government — New England — 
Arrival of the Pilgrims — The Civil Compact in the Mayflower — Great Difficulties — 
Manner of Life — Massasoit — Education — Increase of Population — Union of the 
Colonies — John Eliot — King Philip's War — Triumph of the Whites — New York — 
Discovery of the Hudson River — Settlement on Manhattan Island — War with ladians 
— Surrender to the English. — William Penn — Establishment of the Colony on the 
Delaware — Prosperity of the New Settlement — Other Colonies, .... 357-367 

THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

General Condition — Belief in Witchcraft — Religious Intolerance — Excuse — Growth 
of the Colonies — Forms of Government — French and Indian Aggression — George Wash- 
ington — War with the French and Indians — Defeat of General Braddock — The Siege 
of Quebec — Rapid Immigration — The Gathering Cloud — Changed Relations — English 
Tyranny — Commercial Restrictions — The Stamp Act — Declaration of Rights —The Tax 
on Tea — British Troops — Opposition to English Interference — A Cargo of Tea De- 
stroyed — Retaliation — Preparations for War— First Colonial Congress, . . 367-379 

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

Opening of the War for Independence — The Attack at Lexington — The Battle of 
Concord — George Washington — John Hancock — Benjamin Franklin — Israel Putnam — 
Patrick Henry — Samuel Adams — Gathering of Troops — Aggressive Movements — Ticon- 
deroga — Crown Point — Second Continental Congress — Arrival of British Troops — Bat- 
tle of Bunker Hill — Washington Ai)])ointed Commander-in-Chief — British Evacuation 
of Boston — Protection of New York— The British Attack Charleston, . . 379-396 



CONTENTS. xi 

INDEPENDENCE DECLARED. 

The Formal Declaration of Independence — lis Reception by the People — 
Hessian Troops — General Howe's Commission — Overtures of the British Rejected — 
Americans Retreat from Brooklyn — Battle of White Plains — A Dark Period — The 
Battles of Trenton and Princeton — French Aid to the Patriots — The Marquis de 
Lafayette — Various Encounters — Philadelphia Captured by the British — In the 
Northern Department — Indians Assist the British — Surrender of General Burgoyne — 
Renewed Overtures of Peace from England — Alliance of France and Spain with tlie 
Colonies — Valley Forge — Appearance of a French Fleet — Battle of Monmouth — Bat- 
tle at Quaker Hill — ^The Wyoming Massacre — Cherry Valley — New Plan of Action — 
Along the Sea-coast— Various Battles — In the Western Wilderness — Punishment of 
the Six Nations — The Campaign at the South — On the High Seas — Disasters to the 
Patriots — Francis Marion — South Carolina Organized as a Royal Province — Progress 
of the Campaign in the South and the North — The Treachery of Arnold — Failure of 
his Treasonable Bargain — Sufferings of the Soldiers — Relief Granted by Congress — 
Robert Morris — Depredations by Arnold — Battles of Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse 
— Various Engagements — Massacre at Fort Griswold — The Battle of Yorktown — Sur- 
render of the British, 2g6_4i7 

AFTER THE CONFLICT. 

The Close of the War — Treaties of Peace — Impoverished Condition of the 
Colonies — Commissioners — Proposition to EstabHsh a Monarchy — Domestic Discon- 
tent — Retirement of Washington — Alexander Hamilton — Formation of the Constitu- 
tion — Dissolution of the Continental Congress — The Territorial Government — Election 
of a President 417-423 

A REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED. 

Administration of George Washington — Organization of the Government — 
Public Debt — Returning Prosperity — Indian Hostilities— Pohtical Parties — The 
Whiskey Rebellion — Treaties with England and Spain — Establishment of a Navy — 
Administration of John Adams — Threatened War with France Averted — The 
Death of Washington — The Second Census — Election of President by the House of 
Representatives — Administration of Thomas Jefferson — Conciliatory Measures — 
Additions to the Union — Expeditions against Algerine Pirates — Exploration of the 
Rocky Mountain Region— Aaron Burr — Difficulties with Foreign Nations — Successful 
Steam Navigation — Impressment of Seamen — Embargo upon Shipping — Administra- 
tion of James Madison— The Rights of Citizenship— Continued Aggressions by Eng- 
land — Indian Outbreak— Strength of English and American Navies, . . . 423-432 



xii CONTENTS. 

THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 

Opening of the. War — Disasters on Land — Successes on the Sea — Re-Election 
OF President Madison — American Victories in Canada and on Lake Erie — Varying 
Fortunes of War — British-Depredations — The City of Washington Plundered — Nego- 
tiations for Peace — The Battle of New Orleans — Peace Restored, .... 432-436 

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS. 

Algerine Pirates — Admission of Indiana — The United States Bank Chartered — 
Administration of James Monroe — Emigration to the West — New States and 
Territories — The Missouri Compromise — Re-election of President Monroe — 
Visit of Lafayette — Sketch of his Life — Election of John Quincy Adams as Presi- 
dent — His Administration — The Erie Canal — Death of John Adams and Thomas 
Jefferson — The Fiftieth Anniversary of Independence — Administration of Andrew 
Jackson — Removal of the Cherokee Indians — Veto of the Charter of the National 
Bank — The Black Hawk War — Secession Threatened by South Carolina — Business 
Panic — War with Indians in Florida — Order to collect Revenues in Coin — Admission 
of New States — Administration of Martin Van Buren — Commercial Disaster — 
Violation of Neutrality Laws — Administration of Presidents Harrison and Tyler 
— Call for an Extra Session of Congress — Death of President Harrison — Succession of 
Vice-President Tyler — Legislation Relating to Commercial Affairs — Modification of 
the Tariff — Adoption of a State Constitution by Rhode Island — Texas Applies for 
Admission to the Union — Florida and Iowa become States — Administration of 
James K. Polk — Annexation of Texas — Settlement of the Northwestern Boundaries 
Dispute, 436-446 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

Causes of the War — The Conquest of California — The Navajo Indians Subdued — 
Close of the Mexican War — Discovery of Gold in California — Election of General 
Taylor to the Presidency — Important Measures during the Administration of Presi- 
dent Polk — -Wisconsin Admitted to the Union, 446-450 

THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 

Rapid National Progress — The Slavery Question — Growth of the Slave Power — 
General Sentiment of the Country at the Time of the Revolution — Compromise Mea- 
sures — The Cotton Gin — Increasing Demand for Slaves — Great Change in Public 
Sentiment — The Missouri Compromise — ^Northern Opposition to Slavery — The 
" Emancipator" — Conflict Regarding the Admission of Texas as a State — California a 
Free State — Administration of Zacharv Tavi.ok — The " Omnibus Bill " — Death 



CONTENTS. xiii 

of General Taylor and Succession of Millard Fillmore to the Presi-dency — Important 
Events of President Taylor's Administration — Administration of Millard Fillmore 
— The Fugitive Slave Law Supported — Reduction of Postage — Introduction of the 
Telegraph — Invasion of Cuba — Organization of Minnesota as a Territory — Enlarge- 
ment of the National Capitol Building — Arctic Expedition — Visit of Kossuth — The 
Newfoundland Fisheries — Treaty with Japan — Trouble with Spain — Organization of 
Washington Territory, 451-464 

THE COMING STORM. 

Administration of Franklin Pierce — Difficulties — Dispute with Mexico — 
Establishment of Steamship Lines to Asia — Explorations of the Northwest — World's 
Fair in New York— Relations with Mexico — Central America and the Sandwich 
Islands — Renewed Discussion of the Slavery Question — More Trouble with Spain — 
Effort to Obtain Cuba — " The Golden Circle " — Treaties with Mexico and Great 
Britain — Invasion of Nicaragua — Indian Troubles— Difficulties with Great Britain — 
Formation of the Republican Party — The Know-Nothing Party — Exciting PoHtical 
Canvass — Election of the Democratic Candidates, 464-469 

THE CONTEST BEGUN. 

Administration of James Buchanan — Conflict in Kansas— Reign of Terror — 
The Dred Scott Decision — Continued Troubles in Kansas — The " Southern Com- 
mercial Convention " — Increase of the Slave Trade — Efforts to Restrict Slavery — The 
" Mormon War " — Raid of John Brown — Scheme for Disunion — Democratic Conven- 
tion at Charleston — Various Political Nominations — Exciting Contest — Election of 
Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency — Continued Plottings of Treason — Efforts to 
Cripple the Government — Secession of South Carolina — The Example Followed by 
other States — Organization of the Confederate Government — A Peace Conven- 
tion — Loyalty of General Scott, 469-477 

THE CIVIL WAR. 

Administration of Abraham Lincoln — Surrounded by Difficulties — Condition 
of the Army and Navy — Attack upon Fort Sumter — The Civil War Inaugurated — 
A Great Uprising — Bloodshed in Baltimore — Condition of the Opposing Forces — The 
Battle of Bull Run— The North Aroused— General McClellan— The Confederate Capi- 
tal Changed from Montgomery to Richmond — General Lee — " Stonewall " Jackson — 
Review of the Events of 1861 — The Campaign of 1862 — The Merrimac and Monitor 
— Extreme Caution of General McClellan — In the Valley of the Mississippi — In other 
Sections — Battle of Antietam — General McClellan Superseded — Battles, . 478-494 



xiv CONTENTS. 

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 

Emancipation a Necessity — Confederate Privateers — The Course of Great Britain 
— Military Operations of 1863 — In the Mississipp Valley — The Capture of Vicks- 
burg — In the East — The Battle of Gettysburg —The Draft Riots — Military Movements 
in Virginia — In Tennessee — In other Sections — Financial Condition of the Union and 
of the Confederacy — Military Operations of 1864 — Commission of General Grant as 
Commander-in-Chief of the Union Forces — Reverses at the South — Heavy Fighting in 
Virginia — In the Shenandoah Valley — Sherman's March to the Sea — In other States — 
Privateers — The Port of Mobile closed — Re-nomination of President Lincoln — Nomi- 
nation of General McClellan for President. — Re-election of President Lincoln — 
Closing Events of the War — The Capture of Richmond — Surrender of General Lee — 
Assassination of President Lincoln — Succession of Andrew Johnson to the Pres- 
idency — Surrender of General Johnston — General Grant's Farewell Address — Review of 
the Union Army — The Army Disbanded, 494-517 

REORGANIZATION AND PROGRESS. 

Amendments to the Constitution — Removal of Commercial Restrictions — State 
Conventions — Conflict between the President and Congress — The French in Mex- 
ico—Effort to Impeach President Johnson — Admission of Nebraska to the Union 
— Result of the Trial of the President — Adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment to the 
Constitution — Treaty with China — Election of General Grant as President — Adminis- 
tration OF President Grant — Completion of the Work of Re-construction — Passage 
of a General Amnesty Bill by Congress — Completion of a Railroad across the Continent 
— Insurrection in Cuba — Fenian Invasion of Canada — Effort to Annex Hayti to the 
United States — Survey for an Inter-oceanic Canal at Isthmus of Darien — Destructive 
Fires in Chicago and Boston — The Alabama Claims — Establishment of the National 
Signal Service — Abolition of the Franking Privilege — Presidential Nominations — Re- 
election OF General Grant — Mormon Troubles — Difficulties with the Indians — 
Admission of Colorado as a State — Political Events, 517-525 

THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. 

A Great Success — The Presidential Election — Appointment of the Electoral 
Commission — R. B. Hayes Declared the President Elect. — Administration of 
President Haves — Political Measures — Exodus of Negroes from Southern States 
— Resumption of Specie Payments — War with the Ute Indians — The Inter-oceanic 
Canal Scheme Revived — Presidential Nominations — Election of James A. Garfield — 
Administration of President Garfield — Deadlock in the Senate — Resignation of 
the Senators from New York— Relations with Foreign Countries — Assassination of 



CONTENTS. XV 

President Garfield — Succession of Chester A. Arthur to the Presidency — Adminis- 
tration OF President Arthur — Special Session of the Senate — Appointment of 
Cabinet Officers — Centennial Celebration of the Surrender of Cornwallis — Trial and 
Execution of Guiteau, the Assassin of President Garfield, 525-534 

THE FORTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. 

The " Star Route " Trials — Recommendations of the President — The Chinese Ex- 
clusion Bill — Commercial Treaty with Mexico — Democratic Majority in the House of 
Representatives — Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Landing of 
William Penn — Civil Service Reform Bill — Reduction of Letter Postage — Termination 
of Fisheries Treaty, with Great Britain — Labor Commission — New York and Brooklyn 
Bridge — Opening of the Northern Pacific Railroad — Centennial Celebrations — The 
Forty-eighth Congress — Recommendations of the President — The Treasury Surplus — 
The Mormon Problem — The Liquor Traffic — An Educational Measure Proposed — 
Repeal of the Test Oath, 534-537 

IMPORTANT EVENTS. 

National Conventions — Presidential Campaign and Election — Relief of Lieutenant 
Greely's Exploring Party in Arctic Regions — Wreck of the Steamship Jeanette — The 
Bartholdi Statue — The Tehuantepec Canal Project — Fail'ure of a Treaty with Spain — 
The President's Message — World's Fair at New Orleans — Completion of the Washing- 
ton Monument — Reduction of the National Debt — General Grant placed on the Re- 
tired list of the Army — Succession of Grover Cleveland to the Presidency — 
Events of his Administration — Rebellion at Panama — Trouble with Indian Tribes — 
Death of General Grant — Great Strike of the Knights of Labor on the Southwestern 
Railroads— Death of Archbishop McCloskey, General McClellan, and Vice President 
Hendricks — The Forty-ninth Congress — Conspiracy in San Francisco — The Cherokee 
Indians — The Anti-Polygamy Bill — Land Claims of the Northern Pacific Railroad 
Company — Presidential Succession Act — Opposition to the Chinese in California — 
Riot at East St. Louis — Anarchist Riot in Chicago — Marriage of President Cleveland 
— Veto of Pension Bills — Fisheries Dispute with Canada — Destructive Earthquake at 
Charleston, 538-544 

THE PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS. 

The Republican Anti-Saloon League Formed — Unveiling of the Bartholdi Statue 
in New York Harbor— Death of ex-President Arthur— The Maritime Canal Company 
— Department of Agriculture and Labor — The Inter-State Commerce Act — Centen- 
nial Celebration of Adoption of the National Constitution at Philadelphia — The 



xvi CONTENTS. 

Fiftieth Congress — The President's Message — Nomination of L. Q. C. Lamar as Justice 
of the Supreme Court — Strike of Miners in Schuylkill Coal Regions — The " Mills Bill " 
— Death of the Emperor of Germany — The Great " Blizzard " — Death of Chief-Justice 
Waite and Appointment of M. W. Fuller as his Successor — Relations with China — 
Death of General Sheridan — The Political Conventions — Re-union of Northern and 
Southern Soldiers at Gettysburg — Yellow-Fever at Jacksonville — Dismission of the 
British Minister — Presidential Election — The President's Message — New States 
Created, 545-549 

OUR NATIONAL PROGRESS. 

At the Close of the War — Condition of the South — Industrie ■■• Paralyzed — Cotton 
Grown by Free Labor — Industries of the North — Depreciation of Values — Return 
of Confidence — Effect of the Centennial Exposition — ^ Reduction of the Public Deot- - 
The Feeling of the South — Cotton Exposition at Atlanta — Immigration — Wonderful 
Inventions — The Demands of the Hour, 55°-553 

GREAT STATE PAPERS. 

Declaration of Independence, 555 

Constitution of the United 'States, 559 

Emancipation Proclamation, 571 



CONTENTS. xvii 



Beyond the States. 

THE DOMINION OF CANADA — Location — Area — Population— Provinces 
— Government and Constitution — Religion — Public Works — Finances — Exports and 
Imports — Discovery — First Permanent Settlement — Progress — Ceded to Great Britain 
— Political Difficulties — The Northwest Territories Purchased— Confederation, 573 

City of Ottawa — Location — Incorporation — Scenery — Water Power — Imports 
and Exports — Government Buildings — Railroad and Steamboat Connections — Popu- 
lation, 577 

PROVINCE OF ONTARIO — Location — Area — Population — Cultivation- 
Natural Features — Resources — Industries — Productions — Government — Education — 
Churches — Charitable Institutions — Railroads, 579 

City of Toronto — Location — Industries — Area — Harbor — Appearance — Princi- 
pal Buildings — Institutions — Exports — History — Population, 582 

City of Hamilton — Location — Important Commercial Centre — Rapid Growth — 
Manufactures — Institutions — Population, 584 

City of Kingston — Location — History — Harbor — Public Buildings — Surround- 
ings — Ship-building — Manufactures — Important Military Position — Institutions — Popu- 
lation, 585 

City of London — Location — English Names — Commercial Centre — Manufactures 
—Education — Population, 586 

PROVINCE OF QUEBEC— Location— Area— Population— Cultivation— Nat- 
ural Features — Lakes — Mineral Wealth — Climate — Soil — Lumber — Wild Animals — 
Productions — Government — Principal Cities — Education — Religion — Institutions — 
Railroads, 587 

City of Quebec — Importance — Location — Railroad Connections — Discovery and 
Settlement — Early History — Peculiarities and Attractions — Commerce — Manufactures 
— Steamboats — Scenery — Institutions — Population, 589 

City of Montreal — Rank — Location — Harbor — Steamboat and Railroad Com- 
munication — Public Buildings — Institutions — Water Supply — Rapid Progress — Imports 



xviii CONTENTS. 

and Exports — Manufactures — The French Quarter and English Quarter — Railroad 
Depots — Festivities — Population, 592 

PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA— Location— History— Area— Natural Fea- 
tures — Mineral Deposits — Climate — Population — Industries — Statistics— Government 
— Education — Religion, 597 

City of Halifax — Location — Harbor — Extent — Armament — Public Buildings — 
Industries — Railroad Communication — Parks and Gardens, 599 

PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK— Early History— Location— Area— Pop- 
ulation — Natural Divisions — General Appearance — Islands — Rivers- — Natural Re- 
sources — Climate — Forests — Agricultural Productions — Animals — Government — Edu- 
cation — Railroads and Telegraphs, 600 

City of Fredericton — Location — Appearance — Public Buildings — Educational 
Institutions — Trade — Population, 602 

City of St. John — Importance — Location — Harbor — Bridges — Streets — Principal 
Buildings — Institutions — Government — Railroad Connections — Industries — Manufac- 
tures — Exports — Imports — Population, 603 

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA— Location— Purchase by Dominion Government 
— Political Troubles — Area — Population — Soil — Extent of Agricultural Operations — 
Animals — Climate — Government — Churches — Educational Institutions — Canadian 
Pacific Railroad, 604 

City of Winnipeg — Location — Marvellous Growth — Climate — Vegetation — Ma- 
terial Prosperity — Religion and Education — Population, 606 

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND— Location— Area— Population— Early History- 
Natural Resources — Climate — Productions — Government — Land Tenure — Education 
— Religion — Railroads, 607 

City of Charlottetown — Location — Harbor — Appearance — Public Buildings — 
Educational Institutions — Churches — Trade — Population, 608 

PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA— Incorporation— Boundaries— Area- 
Population — Natural Features — Agricultural Capacities — Mineral Wealth — Game — 
Fisheries — Climate — Vancouvers Island — Statistics, 609 

City of Victoria — Location — Extent — Streets — Harbor — Fortifications — Build- 
ings — Institutions — Climate — Exports — Population, 611 



CONTENTS. xix 

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES — Area — Population— Soil— Timber- 
Fur Trade — -Purchased by Dominion Government— Officials — Political D'visions — 
Churches and Schools, 612 



ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND— Political Status — Location — Area — Pop- 
ulation — Coast Line — Interior — Bays and Inlets — Rivers — Lakes — Soil — Fisheries — 
Minerals — Climate — The Grand Banks — Government — Public Debt — Revenue — 
Imports :nd Exports — Religion — Education — Population, 613 

City of St. John's — Location — Harbor — Importance — Disastrous Fires — Natural 
Features — Business — Institutions — Public Buildings — Population, . ... 615 

MEXICO — An interesting Country — Boundaries — Area — ^Population — Political 
Divisions— Chief Cities — Statistics — Government — Education — Religion — Natural Re- 
sources — Minerals — Agricultural Productions — History of the Country, . . . 617 

CiTv OF Mexico — Location — Elevation — Streets — Principal Buildings — Public 
Squares — Houses — Business Interests — Education — Railroads — Antiquity — Early His- 
tory- -Population, 622 

City of Vera Cruz — Location — Population — Shore — Harbor — Streets — Buildings 
— Water Supply — Railroad Connections — Fever — Winds — Imports and Exports — 
Island of San Juan de Ulloa, 629 

OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST— Monterey— Location— Importance— Cli- 
mate — Public Buildings — Manufactures — Trade — An Ancient City — Captured by Gen- 
eral Taylor — The Valley of Mexico — Lakes — A Famous Railroad — State of Duran- 
GO — Boundaries — Area — Population — ^Divisions — Climate — Soil — The Capital City — 
State of Chihuahua — Boundaries — ^Area — Population — Political Divisions — Natural 
Features — The Capital City — Silver Mines — Mint — Manufactures — Agriculture — 
Points of Interest — Water Supply — Trade — Population, 631 

CUBA — Importance — Location — Area — Ports — Soil — Agricultural Productions — 
Minerals — Forests — Indigenous Products of Value — Animal Life — Surface — Reh'gion 
— Government — Population — Large Cities — Manufactures — Exports and Imports — 
History, 639 

City of Havana — Importance — Location — Population — Defences — Attractions 
— Principal Buildings — Contrasts — Architecture — Houses — Railroads — Telegraphs — 
Steamers, 642 



XX CONTENTS. 

THE BAHAMA ISLANDS— Location — Area— Natural Features — Principal 
Islands — Salt Production — Climate — Rainfall — Products — Exports — Imports — Finan- 
ces — Government — Religion — Education — Submarine Gardens— Harbor Island — 
Spanish Wells — Eleuthera Island — Guanahani Island — History, 644 

City of Nassau — Location — Extent — Appearance — Institutions — Principal Events 
— Foreign Trade — Winter Resort — Climate — Tropical Vegetation — Attractions, . 647 

COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA— Brazil— Area— Location— Popula- 
tion — The Amazon — Surface — Forests — Soil — Climate — Religion — Education — 
Railroads and Telegraphs — Imports — Exports — Revenue — Manufactures— Govern- 
ment — Principal Cities — History, 649 

City of Rio dE Janeiro — Importance — Location — Harbor — Streets — Residences 
— Churches — Principal Buildings — Education — Water Supply — Shipping — Imports — 
Exports — Population — History — Pernambuco — Population — General Appearance — 
Para — Population — Location — Public Buildings — Commerce, 652 

THE REPUBLIC OF CHILI— Location— Area— Population— Natural Features 
— Agriculture — Minerals — Climate — Political Divisions — Harbors — Government — Re- 
ligion — Education — Railroads — Telegraph — Finances — History, 654 

City of Santiago — Location — Appearance — Principal Buildings — Attractions — 
Public Works — Disastrous Fire — Population, 657 

City of Valparaiso — Location — Appearance — Harbor — Public Buildings — Pop- 
ulation — Disasters — Improvements, 658 

THE REPUBLIC OF PERU — Boundaries — Extent— Population- Surface- 
Climate— Minerals — Soil — Forests — Animals — Guano — Nitrate of Soda — Finances 
— Government — Religion — Education — History, 659 

City of Lima— Former Glory — Location — Population — Appearance — Attractions 
— Education — Earthquakes, 661 

City of Callao — Location — Harbor — Defences — Exports — Population — Disas- 
ters — Blockade, 662 

THE UNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA— Area— Population — Boundaries 
— Political Divisions — Elevation — Climate — Natural Resources — Minerals — Agricul- 
tural Productions — Army — Finances — Commerce — Ship Canals — History, . . 663 

City of Bogota — Location — Climate — Streets — Residences — Principal Buildings 



CONTENTS. xxi 

— Cataract of Tequendama — Religion — Education — Earthquakes — Exports — Popula- 
tion, 665 

THE REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA— Situation— Boundaries— Area— Popula- 
tion — Political Divisions — Natural Features — Soil — Climate — Minerals — Live Stock — 
Agricultural Prod^^ictions — Exports — Lnports — Government — Religion — Education — 
Chief Cities — History, . . . 666 

City of Caracas — Location — Arrangement of Streets — Parishes — Principal Build- 
ings — Earthquakes — Population — La Guayra — Location — Defences — Climate — 
Trade — Population, 668 

THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC— Location— Boundaries— Area— Population- 
Soil — Climate — Natural Resources — Animals — Industries — Exports — Imports — Tele- 
graphs — Railroads — Provinces — Government — Religion — Education — History, 669 

City of Buenos Ayres — Importance— Location — Streets — Buildings — Parks — In- 
stitutions — Population, 672 

THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA— Boundaries— Area and Population— Moun- 
tains — Rivers — Climate — Natural Resources — Animals — Agricultural Productions — 
Trade — Exports — Imports — Railroads — Finances — Religion — Education — Chief Cities 
— Government — Revolutions — History, 672 

City of Sucre — Location — Elevation — Principal Buildings — Population, . 675 

THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR — Location— Area— Population— Divisions 
— Cocoa — Mountains— Minerals — Forests — ■ Railroad Communication — Religion — 
Education — Government — Exports — Finances — Disadvantages — History, . . 675 

The City of Quito — Location — Climate — Buildings — Ruins — Population — 
Guayaquil — Location — Population — Manufactures, 677 

THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY— Losses by War— Present Boundaries- 
Area — Population — Rivers — Lakes — Soil — Animals — Forests — Government — Religion 
— Education — Exports — Imports — Army — Public Debt — History, 678 

City of Assumption— Location — Houses — Importance — Population, . . 680 

THE REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY — Boundaries — Area— Population— Coast 
Line — Natural Features — Climate— Soil — Agriculture — Live Stock — Political Divi- 
sions — Government — Finances — Railroads — Telegraphs — Religion — Education — 
History 680 



xxii CONTENTS. 

City of Montevideo — Location — Harbor — Streets and Houses — Principal Build- 
ings — Commerce — Population, 682 

CUIANA — Political Divisions — Location — Area — History — Rivers — Soil — Cli- 
mate — Productions — Forests, 683 

■ 

BRITISH GUIANA— Location — Area — Population — Departments— Exports — 
Imports — Churches — Education, 684 

DUTCH GUIANA — Location — Area — Population— Government — Imports — Ex- 
ports, 684 

FRENCH GUIANA — Location — Area — Population — CHmate — Earthquakes- 
Gold — Exports— Government — Religion— Settlement — Invasion — Convict Establish- 
ment, 68 



linl 



COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA— Boundaries— C nquered by Spai 
—Organization of States — Political Changes — Natural Features— Soil— Minerals 
Productions — Religion — Finances — Area, 687 

THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA— Location— Political Changes— Area- 
Population — Government — Education — Institutions — Railroads and Telegraphs — 
Mines — Finances, ^^^ 

City of New Guatemala— Early History — Present Location — General Appear- 
ance — Principal Buildings — Population 689 

THE REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR — Rank— Boundaries— Area— Pop- 
ulation— Mountains— Soil — Forests — Government— Industries— Religion — Education 
— Finances, 690 

City of Nueva San Salvador — Location — Destructive Earthquake— Buildings- 
Population, 691 

i 

THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS— Rank— Boundaries— Coast Line— Area 
—Population— Mountains and Table-lands— Rivers— Yojoa Lake— Political Divisions 

Seaports — Government — Exports — Imports— Finances— Railroads and Telegraphs 

—Trade— Political History 691 

City of Tegucigalpa — Importance — Location — Mineral Wealth of the Depart- 
nient — The Capital City— Business— Population 692 



I 



CONTENTS. xxiii 

THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA— Rank— Boundaries- Area— Public In- 
terest—Proposed Canal— Principal Rivers— Lake Nicaragua — Rainfall and Climate 
— Forests — Minerals — Soil— Live Stock — Manufactures — Political Divisions — Princi- 
pal Cities and Towns — Government — Finances — History, 693 

THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA— Location— Boundaries— Area— Popu- 
lation — Surface — Climate — Soil — Forests — Products — Live Stock — Mineral Wealth — 
Political Divisions — Government — Finances — Religion— Inhabitants — History — Rail- 
roads and Telegraphs, 696 

City of San Jose — Elevation— Situation — Public Buildings — Population — Ala- 
juela — Former Importance — Cartage — Location — Destructive Earthquake, . . 698 



xxii CONTENTS. 

City of Montevideo — Location — Harbor — Streets and Houses — Principal Build- 
ings—Commerce — Poi)ulation, 682 

GUIANA — Political Divisions — Location — Area — History — Rivers — Soil — Cli- 
mate — Productions — Forests, 6S3 

BRITISH GUIANA— Location — Area — Population — Departments— Exports — 
Imports — Churches — Education, 684 

DUTCH GUIANA — Location — Area — Population — Government — Imports — Ex- 
ports, 684 

FRENCH GUIANA — Location— Area — Population — Climate — Earthquakes- 
Gold — Exports — Government — Religion — Settlement — Invasion — Convict Establish- 
ment, 685 

COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA— Boundaries— C nquered by Spain 
— Organization of States — Political Changes — Natural Features — Soil — Minerals — 
Productions — Religion — Finances — Area, 687 

THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA— Location— PoUtical Changes— Area- 
Population — Government — Education — Institutions — Railroads and Telegraphs — 
Mines- — Finances, 688 

City of New Guatemala — Early History — Present Location — General Appear- 
ance — Principal Buildings — Population, 689 

THE REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR — Rank— Boundaries— Area— Pop- 
ulation — Mountains — Soil — Forests — Government — Industries — Religion — Education 
— Finances, 690 

City of Nueva San Salvador — Location — Destructive Earthquake — Buildings — 
Population 691 

THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS— Rank— Boundaries— Coast Line— Area 
— Population — Mountains and Table-lands — Rivers — Yojoa Lake — Political Divisions 
— Seaports — Government — Exports — Imi)orts — Finances — Railroads and Telegraphs 
—Trade— Political History 691 

City of Tegucigalpa — Importance — Location — Mineral Wealtli of the Dei)art- 
ment — The Capital City — Business — Population, 692 



CONTENTS. xxiii 

THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA— Rank— Boundaries- Area— Public In- 
terest — Proposed Canal — Principal Rivers— Lake Nicaragua — Rainfall and Climate 
— Forests — Minerals — Soil— Live Stock — Manufactures — Political Divisions — Princi- 
pal Cities and Towns — Government — Finances — History, 693 

THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA— Location— Boundaries— Area— Popu- 
lation — Surface — Climate — Soil — Forests — Products — Live Stock — Mineral Wealth — 
Political Divisions — Government — Finances — Religion — Inhabitants — History — Rail- 
roads and Telegraphs, 696 

City of San Jose — Elevation — Situation — Public Buildings — Population — Ala- 
juela — Former Importance — Cartage — Location — Destructive Earthquake, . . 698 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Portrait of Christopher Columbus (steel) , . . . . 

Portraits of Delegates to International Am. Conference of 1889-90. 

Boat-House Landing, Newport, R. I., 

The Round Tower, 

Cliff Walk, . 

Scenes at Newport, 

Old Fort, 

Plymouth Bay, 

The Home of Daniel Webster, 

Where Miles Standish Lived, 

The Mayflower Nearing Land, 

Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, Mass., 

A Piece of the Pilgrim Rock, 

Scenes along Cape Cod, 

Provincetown, on Cape Cod, 

Black Fish, .... 

Views on Cape Cod, 

Buzzard's Bay and Vicinity, . 

Views on Sea and Shore, 

Martha's Vineyard, Mass., , 

Gay Head Light, . 

Views at Nantucket, 

Nantucket, .... 

Bar Harbor and Mount Desert, 

Moat Mountain, . 

Through the Franconia Notch, 

The Old Man of the Mountain, 

The Franconia Mountains, . 

The Palisades, 

Fac-Simile of Pass from Arnold to Andre, 

Northern Entrance to the Hudson Highlands 

Newburgh, N. Y., Scenes, . 

View of the Turk's Face on the Hudson, 

A View in the Catskills, 

Kaaterskill Falls, ..... 



Frontispieces 



XXVI 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



View on Lake Minnewaska, 

The Awosting Falls, 

Camping on the Lake, . 

View on Lake George, . 

Tail Piece, .... 

A Sharp Turn, 

A Lateral Ravine, 

Long Gallery, 

Point Lookout, . 

Cascade and Buttress, . 

Rainbow Falls — Spartan Pass, 

Pulpit Rock — Giant Gorge, . 

The Gorge, Watkins Glen, 

Glen Mountain House, . 

The Horseshoe Fall, 

Niagara Falls, 

Bridge Leading to Bath and Goat Island, 

View of Niagara Falls, . 

The Terrapin Tower, 

The Old Table Rock, . 

Niagara River Below the Falls, 

Niagara from near Queenstown Heights, 

Suspension Bridge, 

Niagara River — The Whirlpool, 

On the Islands, 

Round Island Park, 

Between the Islands, 

" Bonnie Castle," . 

Alexandria Bay, . 

Down the Rapids, , 

Cresson, on the AUeghenies, 

Lewistown Narrows, 

Horseshoe Curve, . 

Scene on the Beach, Atlantic City, 

On the Beach, Cape May. 

Old Point Comfort, 

In the Heart of the Orange Region, 

The Lovers' Walk, 



PAGE 
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167 
169 

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187 
189 

195 
196 



I 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



xxvu. 



St. David's Path, . 

On the Ocklawaha, 

A Live-Oak Observatory, 

An Everglade, 

Scene on the Mississippi River, 

On the Meramec, . 

The Meramec, 

Cathedral Spires, . 

Balance Rock, 

Valley Home, 

The Black River, . 

In the Ozark Mountains, 

Ribbon Falls, 

Hot Springs Valley, 

View of the Hot Springs, 

Hot Springs, .... 

Rancher's Cabin, . 

On Line of I. and G. T. Railway, 

Hunter's Paradise, 

Sheep Pasture, . . . 

Cotton Field, 

Colorado River, near Austin, 

San Marcos, .... 

Colorado River, 

San Pedro River, . 

Natural Bridge, 

Cotton Platform, . 

Scene on the Brazos, 

Trestles, near Canyon, Texas, 

Big Springs, .... 

Sheep Ranch, 

Sierra Blanca Mountains, 

Road at El Paso and View of Fort 

Pueblo De Taos, New Mexico, 

Pertle Springs, 

Stage Route, .... 

Wheat Field, .... 

A Scene in Southwestern Missouri, 



Bliss 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Scene near Atoka, Indian Territory, 

The Horseshoe, or Twin Canon, 

Bridal Veil Falls, . 

Bailey's Falls, 

Spirit Lake, Iowa, . 

View on Little Spirit Lake, 

Lake Alinnetonka, . 

Hunting Scene, 

Detroit Lake and Hotel Minnesota, 

Scenery on Devil's Lake, Dakota, 

A Western Contrast, 

A Scene on the Leadville Route, 

Mount of the Holy Cross, 

Georgetown, Colorado, 

Devil's Gate, .... 

Gray's Peak, .... 

Cheyenne Falls, 

In North Cheyenne Canon, 

A Glimpse of Manitou and Pike's Peak, 

The Mineral Springs, 

Pike's Peak Trail, 

Rainbow Falls, 

Garfield Memorial, 

Grand Canon of the Arkansas, 

The Royal Gorge, 

Gunnison's Butte, 

Sphinx Rock, . 

Mother Grundy, 

Finger Rock, . 

Giant's Tea Kettle, 

Chicago Lake, 

Feeding Ground of the Antelope, 

Snow Range, . 

Giant's Club, . 

Tower Rock, . 

Castle Rock, . 

The Devil's Slide, 

Approaching the Sierras, 



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275 
276 
277 
278 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



XXIX. 



PACE 



Nevada Falls, . 

279 

Marshall Pass, 

••••••••.. 280 

Approach of the Black Canon, o 

Maxwell's Point, 

' • • • 282 

Following a Canon, „ 

Devil's Gate, . . '. 

• . 284 

Currecanti Needle, . . „ 

' ••••••.... 285 

Marble Pinnacle, . . o^ 

' 286 

Pulpit Rock, . ^g^ 

Toltec Gorge, . . 00 

Black Canon of the Gunnison, . o 

' ••••-.... 209 

The Palisades, 

' ••••••.... 290 

Palace Butte, 

' ••••••.... 291 

Veta Pass, 

' •••••..... 292 

Green River City and Buttes, . 

-' ' ••••••... 293 

Great Shoshone Falls, 

^ . ' 294 

Entering Boulder Canon, 

° '•••••... 295 

Grand Canon, . . ^ 

' ■•••••.... 296 

Dead Man's Falls, . 

' 297 

Salt Lake City, „ 

Where Brigham Young Lived, 200 

Near High Bridge, . 

° » ' ••••'.... 300 

Great Salt Lake, 

' •••••-.... 301 

Hot Springs, Yellowstone Park, 

The " Giant " Geyser, .'305 

Mammoth Hot Springs, ^^ 

Pulpit Terrace, 

307 

Crater of Extinct Geyser, g 

Upper Yellowstone Falls, " . . . ^09 

Views of " Old Faithful" Geyser, 310 

Yellowstone River, ^^2 

Ferry on the Yellowstone River, ^i^ 

Falls of the Yellowstone, 314 

ClifiF in Grand Canon of the Yellowstone, 316 

Falls of the Gibbon River, 317 

Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Valley, 319 

Hallet's Hades, Columbia River, 323 

Mount Hood, ^21: 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Gibraltar, Columbia River, 

Steamer Rounding Cape Horn, 

Cape Horn, 

Multnomah Falls, . 

Floating Fish Wheel, 

Pillars of Hercules, 

Sitka, Alaska, 

Alaska's Thousand Islands, 

Devil's Thumb, Alaska, . 

An Alaska House with Totem Poles, 

Historical Spots in the City of Quebec, 

Chaudiere Falls, 

Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, 

Great South Falls, Muskoka River, 

South Falls, 

High Falls, 

Bridal Veil Falls, . 

Toronto University, 

Kingston, from Fort William Henry, 

London, Ontario, 

Wolfe's Monument, Quebec, 

View from the Citadel, . 

Wolfe's Cove, 

Montreal, from the Mountain, 

Victoria Square, Montreal, 

Victoria Bridge, 

St. John, New Brunswick, 

Mexican Adobe House, . 

Mexican Ox Cart, . 

City of Mexico, 

Church of San Domingo, 

Castle of Chapultepec, 

Merchants' Bazaar, . 

Entrance to Palace, 

Palace, City of Mexico, . 

Scene in the Bay of Vera Cruz, 

The Old Wall and City of Vera Cruz, 

Portal of the Cathedral, Monterey, . 



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581 
582 
583 
585 
587 
590 
591 
591 
593 
594 
596 
603 
618 
621 
623 
624 
625 
626 
627 
628 
629 
630 
632 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xxxi. 



I'AGB 



A Glimpse of Monterey, 633 

Scene in the Valley of Mexico, ......... 634 

View of the City of Durango, .......... 636 

The Cathedral in Chihuahua, . . . . . . . . . • 637 

The Plaza in Chihuahua, . 638 

A Public Fountain in Chihuahua, 638 

A Creole Beauty, 6^6 



THE WONDERLANDS 



CELEBRATED RESORTS 



OUR GREAT REPUBLIC. 



Views in tlie Great Wonderlands of 
our Republic; 



EMBRACING 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 




NEW ENGLAND COAST SCENES. 

Y the term " New England Coast " we mean to designate that 
narrow strip of territory lying along our Atlantic shore between the 
southern boundary of Rhode Island and the northern boundary of 
Maine. The distance, measured in a straight line, is about five degrees of 
latitude — say 350 miles — but fully twice as much measured along the winding 
coast and the deep inlets by which it is everywhere indented. We propose to 
consider ourselves setting out for a tour along this New England Coast, 
making New York our starting-point ; for such are the facilities for travel that 
one can well set out from that metropolis for any part of this continent ; or, 
for the matter of that, for any part of the globe. On this journey of ours we 
shall pass by and through not a few places of much note by reason of their 
population, their industries, or their historic associations. Of these places we 
shall speak only incidentally; they will be treated at due length in other 
portions of this volume. 

We are now setting out from New York, primarily for Boston, which will 
be our immediate point of departure along the New England Coast. We 
might have gone the whole way by rail had we not had it in view first to see 
Newport, in Rhode Island, which can be best reached by steamer. So we go 
by what is designated as " The Fall River Line," an association which not 
only runs the steamers traversing Long Island Sound, but also manages that 



54 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



railroad system known as " The Old Colony Railroad," whose various 
branches so thoroughly " gridiron " southeastern Massachusetts that it would 
not be easy for one to put his foot upon a spot more than ten miles from a 
railroad station. Our steamer runs up the Sound, having the rightly-named 
" Long Island " on the right, and the opposite shores of a bit of New York, of 
Connecticut, and of Rhode Island on the left. L^nless, as sometimes happens 
at all seasons, there should be a dense fog, the world cannot show a safer or 




BOAT-HOUSE LANDING, NEWPORT, R. I. 



more charming bit of inland navigation than the hundred miles and m.ore 
through Long Island Sound. 

A.S we left New York late in the afternoon, it will be in the small hours of 
the next morning when we round Point Judith, a bold headland in Rhode 
Island, jutting out just where the Sound begins to widen into Buzzard's Bay, 
then into Nantucket Sound, and then into the broad Atlantic. If there be 
any gale blowing hereabouts we shall be sure to find it at Point Judith. But, 
gale or no gale, we shoot across the narrow mouth of Narraganset Bay, which 
sets far inland up to Providence, the second city in New England in point 
of population. But up to Providence we do not purpose to go; so crossing 
the mouth of Narraganset Bay, we land at Newport. This city, the capital 
of Newport County and one of the capitals of the State, is the most noted of 
all American seaside resorts. It practically covers a little island, which the 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



55 



aborigines called Aquidiieck, which we are told means " Peace Lsland." The 
early English settlers found or fancied in this islet some resemblance to the 
island of Rhodes (" Rose Island "), in the Mediterranean, and called it " Rhode 
Lsland ;" and this name camic to be applied to the entire State- — one of the 
original thirteen — of which the island forms only a small part. 

If, a little more than a century ago one had been asked to point out the 
probable site of the future commercial metropolis of the British colony in 
America, he would doubtless have placed it upon Rhode Island rather than 
upon Manhattan Island. During the war for Independence Newport Harbor 
w^as the principal station of the British fleet, and when the British were forced 
to abandon the region, they burned 
six m.en-of-war and many smaller 
arm.ed cruisers, and scuttled and sunk 
more than fifty transports and other 
vessels in Newport Flarbor. They 
also, out of sheer wantonness, tried 
to destroy the curious old Round jp 
Tower, the almost perfect remains of 
which are a puzzle to archeeologists. 

Nobody knows, or can more than 
guess, by whom, or when, or for what 
purpose, this Tower was built. Some 
will have it to be the work of the 
Norsemen, who are supoosed to have 
coasted down from Greenland and set- 
tled here and hereabouts some five centuries before Columbus made his first 
voyage across the Atlantic to find the New World. Others, quite as con- 
fidently, and perhaps vv'ith quite as good reason, maintain that this Round 
Tower was built by some vvhimsical Englishman not more than a century 
and a half, or at most two centuries, ago, to be used as a windmill, or more 
probably as a granary. But whoever was the builder, or for whatever pur- 
pose it was built, the work was well done. The Tower has existed, sub- 
stantially as we now see it, for considerably more than a century, and 
doubtless much longer. It may be safely assumed that it is one of the most 
ancient structures by human hands now standing in New England ; and there 
seems no good reason to doubt that it will stand for centuries to come. 
Whatever view as to its origin one may adopt, he may congratulate himself 




THE ROUND TOWER, NEWPORT, R. I. 



56 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

that, if he cannot prove his own theory to be right, nobody else can prove it 
to be wrong. The Tower, as it stands, consists of an unroofed chamber rest- 
ing upon eight arches, of about I2 feet from the ground to the crown of the 
arches. The diameter of the Tower is about 23 feet, and its present height 
about 24 feet. It is built of blocks of the ordinary stone of the region, laid 
in a mortar composed of sand and shell-lime, this mortar being now quite as 
hard as the stone itself. During the latter part of the war for Independence 
the chamber of the Round Tower was used by the British as a powder-maga- 
zine — for which it was admirably adapted. When they attempted to blow it 
up by exploding a quantity of gunpowder in the chamber, they only suc- 

-.^... , ceeded in blowing ofT the roof (probabl}- 
;i of wood and conical), and in throwing 
down some four feet of the upper part 
of the stone wall. 

But, however interesting the old 
Tower may be to antiquarians, and the 
historic associations to the student, the 
tourist will look upon the city princi- 
pally in its character as a summer resort. 
But little observation will convince him 
that the attractions are manifold and 
^ diverse. The natural beauty is of the 
fairest type. The landscape is charm- 
ing. Fine trees and ornamental shrubs 
abound. The turf is green and soft 
like a rich carpet spread over the 
ground. On a sunny day the delightful shade and the inv^igorating air make 
one wonder whether the original Eden was more beautiful and enjoyable than 
this celebrated locality. Then, too, the varying appearance of the shore as 
viewed from different points adds greatly to the scenic attractions. Beaches 
alternate with ledges. The former, of which there are four, are long and fine. 
Three of them lie east of the town and form a driveway of great beauty. 
The other, called the South Beach, is less visited because less easy of access, 
but, though smaller, it can hardly be considered less beautiful. Here may 
be seen the " Spouting Rock," from the cavities in which, when the wand and 
tide are in the right directions, the spray is thrown in a most beautiful man- 
ner. This beach is not as much frequented for bathing as the one nearest 




CUFF WALK, NFWi'OKT, K.. I. 




SCENES AT NEWPORT, R. I. 



58 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

the city, which is a favorite because it is readily accessible, has a clear, 
smooth, sandy bottom, is safe, and its waters are warmed by the Gulf Stream, 
which, at this point, is only a short distance from the shore. 

The clifTs and ledges at various places along the shore impart an air of 
wildness and exquisite beauty to the scene. As the waves break against 
these precipitous walls they show the power and grandeur of the ocean as 
clearly as the beach reveals its placid beauty. Fort Adams, at the mouth of 
the harbor, is an attractive feature, while on the other shore of the bay may 
be seen the ruins of some of the fortifications of Revolutionary times. 

The harbor itself 



also presents a beau- 
tiful and interesting 
view. Here may be 
seen small sail-boats 
and immense ships, 
diminutive tug-boats 
and magnificent 
steamers, w^hile the 
finest yachts in Amer- 
ican waters ma}' here 
be found. The num- 
berless small boats 
furnish abundant 
means for all who 

OI.Il KUKT, MiAR .NLUl'Ukl, R. 1. ■ 1 4-^ 4-^1 ^ ^ ,.^;1 

' Wish to take a sail 

near the shore. The sportsman will find excellent fishing either a little 
out from the shore or in the streams and lakes of fresh water which are 
close at hand. 

The beautiful drives in the vicinity add not a little to the attractions of 
the place. A good road is now open all along the coast and passes over hills 
of considerable elevation and across valleys of the greatest beauty. From 
some of these hill-tops splendid views of both ocean and shore are obtained. 
Numerous islands stand like emeralds in the surrounding blue, while looking 
inland the landscape is beautiful beyond description. 

While in a certain sense Newport is an "aristocratic" locality, it is also a 
favorite place of resort for thousands who have neither wealth nor eminence 
in the social world. There is room, and the accommodations are ample, for 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 59 

all. Sea and shore present the same beauties to the poor as they do to the 
rich. The climate is as mild and genial to the one class as to the other. 
Even the attractions which wealth has added to the natural features of the 
landscape are in a degree enjoyed by all. The beautiful residences, and par- 
ticularly the magnificent grounds of the rich are admired by the poor as well 
as by the owners themselves. In few places have nature and art united so 
fully and extensively to adorn a locality, and in but few spots upon the coast 
can there be found such perfect beauty of both sea and shore com.bined. 

The population of Newport in 1889 was over 20,000 besides the summer 
population, which ranges from 8,000 to 12,000. The city has excellent schools, 
libraries, and banking facilities, and numerous churches. Newport claims 
the distinction of having the oldest newspaper in the United States and of 
being the place of the yearly meeting of the Society of Friends for almost 
two centuries and a half. During the past few years the permanent popula- 
tion has rapidly increased and the number of summer visitors grows larger 
year by year. 

Bidding good-by to Newport on the Narraganset, a nicer place, we ven- 
ture to say, than Nice on the Mediterranean, we commit ourselves trustingly 
to the care of the Old Colony Railroad, whose numerous tracks " gridiron " 
this region. The central bar of this gridiron is about the best by which one 
can reach Boston. From Boston we purpose to go over more than one of 
the bars of the big gridiron, and notably its long crooked handle which men 
call Cape Cod; and thence, as at the time may seem best, to such out-of-the- 
way places as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Then, getting back to 
Boston by the way which seems to be most convenient — and the conjoined 
Fall River Steamers and Old Colony Railroad will give us abundant means 
for choice — we shall set out upon the northern part of our trip, up to the ex- 
treme boundary of Maine. 

Setting off from Boston, our first objective point is Plymouth, about forty 
miles southeastward, as the crow flies, but perhaps twice as far by the railway 
route, which we choose ; for it is well worth our while to take one of the 
short bars of the gridiron, and have a look at Nantasket Beach, which, as we 
are told at Boston, is the finest thing of the kind in the world. 

Perhaps our Boston friends are a little too enthusiastic; but Nantasket 
Beach is well worth the few hours which will be required to " do " it. The 
Beach is simply a peninsula of wave-hardened sand, stretching some half- 
dozen miles northward from the coast-line, the trend of w^hich is here due 



6o THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

eastward, though it soon turns sharply to the south, down to Plymouth Bay, 
whence it seems not to have made up its mind which way to go. At length 
it seems to have come to' the conclusion that an eastward course was worth 
looking at. If it had kept on this course for two or three thousand miles, it 
would have linked itself to the Old World, somewhere in France or Spain, 
wiiich lie in about the same latitude. But after going eastward for a few 
leagues, the unstable coast went pretty nearly southward for a while ; then 
again turned eastward once more; then bent again to the north, with even a 




PLYMOUTH BAY. 



slight westward look. This sickle-shaped inner shore line, with its outer 
shore line nearly parallel, forms the peninsula of Cape Cod, at whose extremest 
northeastern point is the village of Provincetown, from which one can look 
westward across Cape Cod Bay to Plymouth. The distance in a straight line 
from Provincetown to Plymouth is not far from twenty-five miles; measured 
around the coast-line of the Cape, with which the railroad runs nearly parallel, 
the distance is about three times greater. 

Leaving Nantasket Beach, the "landscape" around which is rather nice, 
and the "waterscape" a good deal more than nice — the Old Colony Railroad 
takes us toward Plymouth. As we approach the venerable and venerated 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 6r 



to\vn of the Pilgrim Fathers we shall pass Marshfield, for many years the 
homestead of Daniel Webster. We shall not see it from the train ; but its 
location will be indicated to us, and our Guide Book will have a picture of it, 
so that we can congratulate ourselves upon having seen it, after a fashion. 
A few miles further on, and in the township of Duxbury, overlooking Ply- 
mouth Bay, is a quaint, substantial structure known as " The Miles Standish 
House," said to have been built in 1666. It cannot, therefore, have been 
built by the valorous little " Captain of Plymouth," who had died ten years 
before at the goodly age of seventy-two. Quite probably this house may 
occupy the site of the one where the only Miles Standish of whom we know 
anything had his abode at and after that " courtship " of his of which 
Longfellow tells us. At all events, the grim little Captain did not die of a 
broken heart in 
consequence of his 
courtship by proxy 
of young John \'^ 
Alden, who, upon ^\<f^rw;^Xm 




THE HOME OF DANIEL WEDSTER. 



the hint of the sweet \l/ii.'^'<'X 
Priscilla, "spoke for T^^se-i^A 
himself " with more h«~nJ§«JTE|, ^ , 
success — though ^'" 
certainly not more 
earnestly, than he 

had been speaking in behalf of his middle-aged friend. Miles Standish lived 
nearly two-score years after this "disappointment;" and Longfellow tells us 
— and who will question him — he looked on, with more of pleasure than pain, 
when John Alden walked away from the scene of his wedding, leading the 
" snow-white bull," upon which was seated " Priscilla the Puritan maiden," the 
just-wedded wife of John Alden. It is no unreasonable stretch of imagina- 
tion for us to believe that in the coming years the little Aldens — and there 
were not a few of them — children born to John and Priscilla, were wont to 
visit the valorous Captain Miles Standish, whose fighting days were now over, 
in his " simple and primitive dwelling," which certainly was not far from Ply- 
mouth, and which we hope no accurate antiquarian will be able to show did 
not stand upon the very spot where now stands the " Miles Standish House." 
Plymouth Bay, which we are now in sight of, in a bright summer after- 
noon, is a pleasant piece of water. Quite otherwise must it have looked to 



62 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 






r?ss5^icr!??r 




WHERE MILES STANDISH LIVED 



the voyagers in the " Mayflower," who on* a day late in December, 1620, were 
the first men of the white race who ever saw its waters and forest-clad shores. 
Shutting our eyes, and calling to mind the narratives which have come down 

to us, we can pic- 
ture to ourselves 
how the scene must 
have looked to the 
Pilgrim Fathers and 
IMlgrim Mothers. 
Opening our eyes, 
and looking around, 
no two pictures 
could well be more 
unlike. Yet both 
are absolutely true. 
The brightness of glad waters, with their " innumerable laugh," and the white 
sails darting in every direction will be all the brighter in contrast with the 
hoarse murmur of the breakers heard by the Pilgrims of the " Mayflower " 
as their solitary weather-beaten vessel steered into these unknown waters. 
Yet no vessel freighted with loftier fortunes ever sighted an unknown coast 
than did this little " Mayflower." In her was potentially the being of our 
New World. Had she borne other men and women than she did, our social 
and political insti- 
tutions would have 






been quite other 'JlJ^/ 
than they are : not 
improbably like 
those of Mexico or 
Peru. 

We do not pur- 
pose here to narrate 
the story of Ply- 
mouth Colon)'. 
Taking the term in 

its widest sense, it was never more than a small settlement, not covering 
much more than the present "township" of Plymouth, a tract 18 miles long, 
with an average breadth of some six miles — the area thus being about 100 




IHE .MAVI-I,<)\VEK NKARLNG LAM' 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 6^^ 



square miles. Plymouth is the oldest settlement by Europeans of which we 
know anything certainly on the New England Coast. If Norsemen settled 
there, as perhaps they did — centuries before, they vanished, leaving behind 
them nothing which clearly shows that they had ever been there or there- 
abouts. 

Leaving out of view Saint Augustine, in Florida, where the Spaniards had 
a post as early as 1565, Plymouth is the third early spot occupied by Euro- 
peans within what 
we now designate 
as North America. 
This occupation 
was made in 1620. 
In 1608 the English 
made a settlement 
at a place in Vir- 
ginia, which they 
crlled Jamestown; 
this was kept up for 
many years, but was 
at length aban- 
doned, and there is 
now hardly an in- 
dication that there 
had ever been a set- 
tlement there. In 
1614 — six years be- 
fore the " Mayflow- 
er " appeared in 

Plymouth Bay — the Dutch made a settlement at the mouth of a stream 
which they called Hudson River. They called this settlement " New Am- 
sterdam," designating the region thereabout as " New Netherlands." All 
this is what we now know as " New York." Plymouth, though an old place, 
as we reckon age in this New World of ours, is "very small for its age." 
Assuming the territorial area of the ancient colony to have been that of the 
present towaiship, its population in 1885 — a little more than two centuries 
after its settlement — was about 7,000, and there is no reason to suppose that 
it had ever been greater. The general physical features of this old colony 




I'lU.KIM HALL, I'L-iMv'LiTii, MASS. 



64 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

are given by one who knows them better than we can pretend to do, and 
whose description we give, though with much abridgment. 

" The land is broken in outline, and rolling in every part, being heaped up 
in quick-succeeding hills and ranges, like the billows of the ocean in a strong 
tideway. This conformation affords situation for numerous ponds and lake- 
lets. The forests are ancient and primeval, sometimes extending for miles 
without a break, save where great fires have devastated, and showing neither 
building nor clearing in evidence that man has ever brought the region under 
subjection. Within the last decade as many as two hundred deer have been 
killed in these and the adjacent woods of Sandwich during a single year. 
Skirting the lakes and ponds, and winding over and among the hills, innumer- 
able roads afford the most beautiful driveways imaginable. Delightsome 
ocean-views are obtained from the summits of hill-tops, extending for miles 
inland, and outlooks over fair sections of hill and dale. Springs of purest 
water abound, and bubble over on every side, often proving the source of the 
finest ponds. 

"And where can be found ocean shores or ocean views, or any of the de- 
lights that the salt sea can afford when contiguous to the land, superior to 
those of Plymouth and her surroundings ? There are beaches of the hardest 
and the whitest sand; the shore in places exposed to the ceaseless rolling of 
the surf, and again receiving the advances of the tides quietly, without the 
turning of a single tiny sand-crystal. From the rock which marks the land- 
ing-place of the Pilgrim Fathers, away around to the ' White Horse,' beyond 
Manomet and 'Indian Hill' to Sandwich line, isolated boulders, rock-patches 
and masses, and craggy formations alternate. The rarest of sailing and fish- 
ing is afforded along these shores; and every object within sight from the 
shifting stand-point suggests the most interesting reminiscences and historic 
associations. Indeed, no situation on the entire Massachusetts coast presents 
so many varied features which go to make up the ideal summering-place." 

Still " Pilgrim Rock " — which some have rather irreverently called the 
" Yankee Blarney Stone" — is, for an outsider, what really makes Plymouth 
what it is — a kind of hallowed ground. Apart from the tradition which makes 
it mark the spot where the Pilgrims first set foot upon the New England 
shore, there is nothing noteworthy about this rock. It is to the eye as com- 
monplace a boulder as an}- other of the thousands which lie around. Neither, 
for the matter of that, is there anything specially notable in the look of the 
Irish Blarney Stone or in that of the still more sacred Black Stone in the 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



65 



Kaaba at Mecca, the kissing of which, in the faith of Islam, is held to be a 
sure passport to Paradise. The sanctity of any material thing rests not so 
much in the thing itself as in the associations with which it has somehow 
come to be linked in our own minds. Somewhat more than sixty years ago 
was erected Plymouth Hall, a substantial granite structure, which does not 
resemble the Par- 
then o n w h i c h 
crowns the Acropo- 
lis at Athens half as 
much as it was in- 
tended to do. It is 
by no means a mean 
building, and was 
designed especially 
as a repository for 
relics connected 
however remotely 
with the " Mayflow- 
er " and her little 
band of Pilgrims ; 
of these there are 
here preserved a 
goodly number of 
more or less interest. 
To the project- 
ors of Pilgrim Hall 
it seemed a good 
idea to transport 
" Forefather s' 
Rock " from its an- 
cient site, which had come to be a decidedly unsightly one, to a more respect- 
able place near the newly-built Hall. An effort was made to raise the rock ; 
but it would not come up entire. A part of it was broken off, which was 
borne with due ceremony and deposited in front of the Hall, and surrounded 
with a substantial iron fence. The other, and presumably the larger part, 
was left where it had always been, on what is now styled Water Street. Over 
it is built a neat structure of stone, through the railed openings of which, as 




A PIECE OF THE PILGRIM ROCK, itl sitti. 



66 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

shown on a preceding page, the top of the rock may be seen. Thus there 
are at Plymouth two Pilgrim Rocks — or, rather, two separate parts of what 
was once the original rock. Both are genuine; which is entitled to the 
higher reverence is an open question. The part in front of the Hall is doubt- 
less that which the feet of the Pilgrims touched , the part remaining near 
the waterside certainly marks the precise spot of the historic landing. 

Plymouth is a sort of jumping-off place on the Old Colony Railroad, for 
one bar of the big gridiron ends here ; and to go anywhere else by rail we 
must go back a little toward Boston, and take some other bar, of which there 
is ample choice for us. First we will strike the Cape Cod branch, which, as 
any map will show, forms the long curved handle of the gridiron. The shape 
of Italy is not unlike that of a big boot ; quite as strikingly does Cape Cod 
resemble that of a human arm stretched out eastward from shoulder to elbow, 
where it crooks northward to the wrist, the hand then bending westward, so 
that the fingers point toward Plymouth, which we may call the collar-bone. 
The shoulder-joint of this long arm is about a dozen miles in a straight line 
south of Plymouth, where Buzzard's Bay sets in from Long Island Sound, so 
deeply that if it had gone some ten miles further it would have met the 
Atlantic, making our Cape Cod an island instead of a peninsula. Among the 
plausible projects which have been broached is that of a ship-canal across the 
narrow peninsula. Should this be carried out there is no saying what changes 
will not be wrought in our systems of coast navigation. 

But as it is. Cape Cod is a peninsula, not an island. Measured from 
shoulder-joint to finger-tip the length of this long arm is about 65 miles, with 
an average breadth of some five miles. It constitutes Barnstable Count)', in 
Massachusetts, having an area of about 600 square miles, and a population, 
in 1880 of about 32,000, of \vhom fully nine-tenths were born on the Cape. 
Probably the very Yankiest part of all Yankee-land is this sandy peninsula of 
Cape Cod. However commonplace the name may seem to sound, there is a 
pretty legend connected with its origin. In very early colonial days, so we 
are told, a fishing-boat found its way into this almost land-locked bay, which 
as far as known had as yet no name of its own. A name it ought to have; 
and what that name should be was piously left to the decision of higher than 
human powers: whatsoever fish should first be caught should give its name to 
the Bay. That fish was a cod — " a goodly codfish," it is incidentally mentioned 
— and so the smooth expanse of water was thereupon named " Cod Bay," and 
the long sand-arm \\hich nearly encircled it came to be styled " Cape Cod." 




SCENES ALONG CAPE COD. 



68 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

The popular idea of Cape Cod — and it could not have come to be a popular 
one unless it were in a measure founded on fact — is that of a region of sand- 
dunes stretching for weary mile after weary mile over plains well-nigh destitute 
of tree or verdure, the loose sand so deep in the roads that a wagon sinks 
axle-deep into it. Cape Cod, as a whole, is undeniabl}' sandy; and one who is 
on the lookout for sand — especially if he is looking out from the windows of 
a railway carriage — will find quite as much as he is looking for; and, moreover, 
the sharp sand-grains have a fancy for constituting themselves his fellow- 
passengers; and get on board when they please, without the preliminary 
formality of purchasing a "ticket " or obtaining a "pass." 

Yet in this long narrow sand-sea there is many a green islet. There are 
not a few cranberry marshes, which are much nicer to look at than to walk 
upon. Nowhere does this acidulous berry attain higher perfection than upon 
Cape Cod, and nowhere is anything more carefully cultivated. A good 
cranberry-bog of a few acres has in it potentially more gold than as many 
square feet of bonanza in California or Colorado. Few people, we suppose, 
become very rich by cranberrry-growing on Cape Cod; but still fewer lose all 
they had, or thought they had, than have done so in the lottery of gold-hunt- 
ing and gold-mining on the Pacific slope of the continent. We can count up 
on our fingers all the men who have drawn great prizes in this lottery; but 
where on earth shall we look for any record of those whose tickets drew 
nothing ? The lucky ones do not seem to have been any better, nor much 
W'iser, than the unlucky ones ; only, by what we may call chance, they hap- 
pened to hold tickets which drew the great prizes. 

So, although we do not own a cranberry-patch on Cape Cod or a bonanza 
in California or elsewhere, we moralize during the few hours which intervene 
between our departure from Plymouth and our arrival at Provincetown, the 
very tip of the forefinger of the long arm of Cape Cod, which almost encircles 
Cape Cod Bay. We shall have passed within sight of — whether we have seen 
them or not — several pretty spots which, if we could have shut our eyes to 
everything else, would almost have persuaded us that there was no such thing 
as sand on Cape Cod, There are several villages — notably those of Barn- 
stable, Yarmouth, and Eastham — the streets of which are shaded by old trees 
as fine as can be seen an)-\vhere in the valley of the Connecticut. There are 
several places where are fancy farms hardly to be matched elsewhere on the 
continent. At the lower end of the Cape — the shoulder of the arm, where it 
has a width of perhaps a score of miles — there is yet a not inconsiderable 



70 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

growth of native forest. The prevaiHng tree is the dwarf pitch-pine, the 
odorous " needles " of which perfume the atmosphere, and are held to have 
no little to do with the acknowledged salubrity of the region. We know of 
no region of a couple of hundreds of square miles where so large a propor- 
tion of the population pass the age of threescore-and-ten. 

Provincetown, at the very tip of the forefinger of the long " arm " of Cape 
Cod, apart from its being just where it is, presents some things to attract atten- 
tion. Of it w-e read in Lippincott's concise " Gazetteer of the World : " " Prov- 
incetown, a post-village in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, at the northern 
extremity of the long peninsula called Cape Cod. It is 55 miles by water 
and 118 miles by rail E.S.E. of Boston. It has a good harbor, and contains 
a national bank, a public library, a newspaper office, two hotels, a high-school 
and several churches. It is mainly supported by cod and mackerel fisheries." 

But elsewhere we are told, much less prosaically: 

" Provincetown occupies the extremity, the curving finger, of Cape Cod. 
With the exception of a narrow strip or neck of sand-heaps which unites it to 
the main Cape, it is surrounded by the salt water of the Atlantic, which rolls 
unchecked between its shores and those of Europe. Its coast-line, beginning 
at a point opposite the narrow neck, sweeps around in a grand circle. The 
inclosed water of this circle is the harbor of Provincetown, the town being 
built along the inner shore at the bottom of the basin. Outside is the Race, 
Wood End, and sundry interesting points of light-house, life-saving station, 
and so forth. Inside is one of the most singular harbors of the w^orld, deep 
enough and spacious enough to shelter a fleet of hundreds of the largest ships 
at one time, and with peculiarities belonging to itself sufficient to make it 
famous wherever those ships may sail." 

Undoubtedly the cod and mackerel fisheries are the main pot-boilers of 
the Provincetown fishermen ; but they by no means constitute the entire list. 
The writer from whom we last quoted, goes on to say: 

" There are few kinds of fish, or any methods of taking them, which are 
not familiar to the people of this region. From the fry and minnow for 
pickerel-bait, up to the lOO-barrel ' right whale,' Provincetown waters have 
witnessed the capture of all kinds. The beaches have received as loot mighty 
carcasses of whales and blackfish, and shoals of porgies, which all the teams 
of the region could hardly remove soon enough, so immense was the deposit. 
A whale in the harbor of Provincetown, at certain seasons, is almost as com- 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



7t 



mon a presence as that of a turtle in a mill-pond; but they are usually repre- 
sentatives of a class disliked and scorned by old-school whale-men." 

This species of whale is that which is designated as the "finback;" and 
there are two good reasons why they should be held in slight esteem : they 
are not easy to catch, and are hardly worth the catching. The finback is 
described as " a long, clean, perfectly-formed creature usually from forty-five 
to fifty feet in length, but sometimes reaching seventy-five or eighty feet. He 
is a most complete model of a craft for speed and easy working in the water; 
and his tail, when in motion, is a perfect development of the screw-motor." 
When one is struck with a harpoon he starts off at his topmost speed. An 
instance is authentically reported when a finback who was harpooned near 
Provincetown head- 
ed straight across 
Massachusetts Bay 
in the direction of 
Boston, dragging 
the boat after him. 
Li forty minutes 
the whalemen were 
in sight of the light- 
house on Minot's 
Reef, a distance of 

not less than forty miles, when the crew cut loose, having payed out all their 
line. For forty miles they had been towed at the rate of a mile a minute. If 
the finback had headed across the Atlantic, and could have kept up his pace, 
he would have brought them in sight of the European shores in about a day 
and a half. In 1885 the population of Provincetown was nearly 4,500. 

The following illustration presents a group of characteristic scenes on 
Cape Cod, most of which explain themselves. That at the top of the page 
represents a wind-mill surmounting a headland overlooking the water. It 
certainly does not remind one of the Round Tower at Newport, which may 
have been built for a wind-mill ; at least, no one can prove that it was not. 
Osterville is a pretty village on the ocean side of the Cape, about thirty miles 
east of New Bedford, which we shall visit. It is a favorite summer resort, 
having a large hotel, several churches, a boat-yard, and not a few " cottages." 
The pretty Library building might well be mistaken for a cozy private cottage. 
The " Codfish Orchard " is not inappropriately named, if the account be true 




SLACK FTSH. 




VIEWS OX CAPE COD. 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 73 

that codfish is the staple fruit grown on the Cape. The story goes on to say 
— (but for the truthfuhiess of this part of it we cannot fully vouch) — that the 
Cape Cod cows feed mainly upon refuse fish, and when " milked," the pails 
are found to be filled with the purest " cod-liver oil." No one, however, will 
doubt this, who has come to put faith in that other story of the thrifty farmer 
who furnished his cows with green-colored goggles, fed them upon pine- 
shavings, which they took to be new-mown grass, and, when " milked," gave 
out " spirits of turpentine " instead of the more usual lacteal fluid. 

Retracing our course along the handle of the gridiron, we turn off to the 
southern rim of its frame, and in an hour or so find ourselves in the city of 
New Bedford, fifty-five miles from Boston, on the western bank of the Acushnet 
River, just where it opens into Buzzard's Bay. To reach the city the railroad 
crosses the river upon a bridge, three-quarters of a mile long. Half a century 
ago New Bedford was a very different place from what it now is. It was the 
metropolis of the whale-fishing industry. This was established there about 
1750, and flourished for a century. At the time of its highest prosperity in 
this industry. New Bedford had not less than 400 whaling-ships, which brought 
home annually 180,000 barrels of oil, besides many tons of "whalebone" — 
wdiich, by the way is not bone %t all, but like big bundles of hairs fastened 
together along their whole length of a dozen feet or~more, and growing inside 
the whale's mouth ; a very useful article for a whale to have about him, since 
it forms a net in which to Catch sundry sorts of small creatures which form 
its food ; for we suppose the true whale could not swallow anything bigger 
than a herring; and as it has nothing in the way of teeth, could not chew up 
any larger creature which it might have caught. 

The New Bedford industry of whaling has greatly declined within the 
memory of men now living. In 1880 it did not employ a quarter as many 
men, or produce a quarter as much oil as it had once done. 

The corn-fed pigs of Illinois can produce oil more cheaply than the fish- 
fed whales of all the oceans can do. And of late years it looks as though the 
petroleum-wells are likely to drive both whales and pigs out of market as 
producers of oil for most purposes; and cotton-seed-oil and peanut-oil are 
trenching upon the products of the immemorial domain of the olive. It does 
not as yet appear that the petroleum-wells propose to enter the field as pro- 
ducers of oils for edible or culinary use. But for illuminating and lubricatory 
purposes — such, for instance, as those of lighting our dwellings and " making 
the face to shine " — the petroleum-wells have fairly put whales, pigs and 



74 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

oliv^e-trees out of the market ; to say nothing of certain other important uses 
of which neither whale, pig, or oHve-tree ever dreamed. 

If, however, the whale-fishing has come to be, or is likely to becom.e, an 
almost extinct industry, New Bedford has been in nowise cast dowm. Acush- 
net River, whose chief occupation had been to make a nice harbor for 
whaling-ships, has been taught how to turn water-wheels for cotton-mills, 
woollen-mills, and such like purposes, ^\■hich pay better than whale-hunting 
ever did. The result is fhat New Bedford is a much handsomer and richer 
city than it ever w-as in its palmiest whale-fishing era. The population, which 
has rapidly increased during the past decade, numbered in 1885 over 33,000. 

But New Bedford, be its attractions what they may, is for us merely the 
point from which we can most conveniently reach the islands of Martha's 
Vineyard and Nantucket, which lie not many miles off the southern shore of 
Cape Cod. 

By a steamer of the Fall River line we cross Buzzard's Bay, that inlet 
from Long Island Sound which, if it had continued half-a-score miles further, 
would have run into Cape Cod Bay, itself an almost land-locked inlet of the 
broad Atlantic; Cape Cod in that case, if it had any name at all, would have 
been styled Cod Island. The shores of Buzzard's Bay present numerous 
points worth v^isiting by one who can give a whole summer to this southern 
bit of the New England Coast. If he has not time for that, the accompany- 
ing views will tell him something of what he might have seen on Buzzard's 
Bay. 

Buzzard's Ba}- sets in about thirty miles. Both shores are deepl)' indented. 
Capes, locally styled " necks," project from the land into thc\\ater; co\'cs, 
often dignified as "harbors," set into the land from the water; and every 
now and then an islet shows its head not far from the shore. 

Most of these necks, coves, and islets have names of their own, in which 
Indian and English stand in close proximity. As we leave New Bedford 
Harbor, we pass Clarke's Point, with its lighthouse, on the other side Fair- 
haven pushes its long sand}' finger down into Buzzard's Ba}'. Close off shore 
lies West Island ; a little farther on is Ram Island ; then Mattapoisett Harbor 
sets well into the shore, with Cannonville lighthouse marking its entrance. 
Passing this, we see Charles Neck; a little beyond are Great Neck; Cromset 
Neck, Indian Neck, another Great Neck; then we have Bourne's Neck, just 
beyond which lies the little Buttermilk Bay, the northeastern extremity of 
Buzzard's Bay, whence " Bourne's Ship Canal " — which as }'et exists only on 




lEVtS- 71L0NQ3 U2£?W53jXj 



BUZZARD S BAY, AND VICINITY. 



76 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

paper — will cut across the neck of Cape Cod, completing the work which 
Buzzard's Bay had to leave unfinished. Now going down the eastern side of 
Buzzard's Bay, we pass Monument Beach and Weijaumet Neck, Bassett's 
Island and Shaggy Neck, Cataumut Harbor, Wild Harbor, Hog Island Har- 
bor, Falmouth, and Ouamquisset Harbor, until we reach Wood's Holl, which, 
as the Gazetteer tells us, " is a post village on the strait which connects Buz- 
zard's Bay with Vineyard Sound; has a safe harbor deep enough to admit 
large ships, and contains a church, several summer boarding-houses, and a 
factory for fertilizers." 

Wood's Holl (the)' pronounce it Hole) has a special interest from the 
fact that it was the sunimer headquarters of the United States Fish Commis- 
sion, headed until his death by Professor Spencer F. Baird, to whose labors pis- 
ciculture owes so much. Across the narrow strait lie the islets of Naushon, 
Pasque, Nashawena, Cutt)'hunk, and a dozen or so more too small to have an 
inhabitant or even a name. These are collectively designated as the Eliza- 
beth Islands. A little out in Buzzard's Bay is the Penikese Islet, a hundred 
acres in extent, upon which for many years Agassiz kept up a summer 
school for the study of natural history. 

This tour of ours around Buzzard's Bay, with its long array of names of 
necks and harbors, has been made only upon paper. As a matter of fact, we 
take steamer at New Bedford, cross the Bay straight for Wood's Holl, where 
we might have stopped for a few minutes, but did not, for we were bound for 
Martha's Vineyard, and thence to Nantucket. 

Martha's Vineyard is an island lying hardly five miles from the southern 
shore of Cape Cod. In shape it is very like a codfish split open and dried. 
Its length from tail to shoulder — the head being wanting — is a little more 
than twenty miles; the breadth across the shoulders being about fifteen miles, 
whence it tapers down to the flukes. The average breadth is about six miles. 
The island itself constitutes a count}', called " Dukes," the smallest by far, 
sa\e one, of the fourteen into which the State of Massachusetts is divided. 
The resident population of Dukes County numbers about 4,200, while that of 
the neighboring island and county of Nantucket is only about 3,100. 

Who the "Martha" was from whom the island derives its name; why it 
was styled her Vineyard, or why a " vineyard " at all, are questions about 
which not a little has been written more or less wisely. A very early legend, 
which nobody can now prove to be untrue, has it that in 1602 — six years 
before the settlement was made at Jamestown, in Virginia, and eighteen years 







VIEWS ON SEA AND SllOKE. 



78 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

before the Pilgrim Fathers set foot on Plymouth Rock — Captain Bartholo- 
mew Gosnold was cruising about in these almost land-locked waters. He 
sighted this pretty islet, and gave it the name which it bears. Whether he 
landed upon it is not so certain. Some authorities will have it that Gosnold's 
" Martha's Vineyard " was a little neighboring islet which now goes by the 
name of " No Man's Land." 

The well-authenticated history of Martha's Vineyard goes back to 1642, 
when a company of emigrants from Southampton, England, established the 
settlement of Edgartown on its eastern and broadest end. Edgartown is the 
sliire-town of the county, containing fully a third of the permanent popula- 
tion of the island. The island has several nice roadsteads, such as Holme's 
Hole, which furnishes a natural harbor of refuge when the weather is foul. 
Not unfrequently hundreds of water-craft tie up here for a few days, their 
crews perhaps doubling the regular population of the island, and putting 
much money into their already fairly-filled purses. Yachtsmen, in particular, 
are fond of Martha's Vineyard and its surroundings. A good authority, 
whom we have already quoted, and shall have further occasion to quote, 
says : 

" Whatever of excellences of climate or sanitary conditions any of the 
localities of this region can boast are enjoyed to their fullest degree on 
Martha's Vineyard. Owing to the peculiar conformation and extent of this 
island, it has many natural landing-places for shipping, and as a haven for 
any kind of sailing-fleets it has no superior in the northern Atlantic waters. 
Its ocean outlooks in every part are of the finest ; and for what may be st)'led 
purely marine pleasures it has no equal on our coasts. And as the waters 
round about Martha's Vineyard present the finest highways for yachting and 
boating, so the gently rolling grounds of the island, and its long reaches of 
level country, offer the most excellent drives, the adjuncts of which are pecu- 
liar to the place, which in almost every part is in full view of the ocean. 
Every breeze which prevails here must of necessity be tempered b}- ocean 
influences, and the summer winds are deliciously cool and invigorating, even 
while only a few miles inland on the mainland the most enervating heats are 
prevailing." 

The accompan}-ing views on Martha's Vine^-ard will toll, better than words 
can, many things there to be seen in summer time, when the actual popula- 
tion of the island may be four times greater than its normal number of 4,000; 
the overplus consists of summer visitors who come and go week by week. 




Martha's vineyaud, mass. 



8o THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 

"Cottage City" is one of the prettiest places of its kind anywhere to be 
found. It stands on the northeastern point of the island, on what "jsed to 
be styled " Oak Bluffs." Somewhat more than half a century ago the 
Methodists fixed upon this then secluded spot as a place for their outdoor 
religious assemblages, or " Camp-meetings." Year by year the frequenters 
of these assemblages began to put up cozy cottages, instead of tents or 
tabernacles. The spot was so pleasant that they began to come there a few 
days before the " meetings " began, and remain there a few days or even 
weeks after they closed. They, in fact, became summer residents at Oak 
Bluffs. It was not long before other people learned of the attractions of the 
spot, built cottages and villas, and made the place their home for half the 
year. By-and-by men who cared more for profit than praying cast their eyes 
upon these bluffs. They began to put up summer hotels and such like 
attractions. The new hotels drew more visitors, and the throng of visitors 
gave rise to new and more sumptuous hostelries, and more palatial " cot- 
tages," until after half a century, Cottage City claims fair rivalry with New- 
port. Though acknowledging itself to be not quite as big, it asserts itself to 
be much nicer in more ways than one. If Martha's Vineyard has not the 
rocky bluffs of the Island of Rhodes, it has much longer and finer drives 
along the sandy shore. If Cottage City has no antique Round Tower, it has 
its great annual camp-meeting- — an attraction the like of which Newport has 
nothing to present. We do not here venture to pronounce which of the tv.o 
resorts is the more enjoyable ; but we will maintain against all comers, that 
both are better than either. 

Among the views presented is one of Gay Head, the loneliness of which 
stands in striking contrast with the urban scenes among which it appears. 
Gay Head is as far off from Oak Bluff as one can get without leaving Martha's 
Vineyard. It foriris one fluke of the tail of the fish, a shoulder of which is 
occupied by Cottage City. As one approaches the Head, driving down the 
shore, nothing more desolate can well be conceived : bare sand, with here and 
there a patch of scanty verdure. Upon the Head — or rather upon a ledge 
just off-shore — is a lighthouse which stands sharply against the evening sky, 
rising to a height of 170 feet above the v»atcr. There is nothing especially 
remarkable to us about this lighthouse ; but somehow its revolving light has 
fascinations for the seabirds who come voyaging along in the gloom. Not a 
few of these from time to time dash themselves against the stout glass plates 
which inclose the revolving light, and come to grief thereby. But as these 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



8i 



birds are rarely of a toothsome kind, we do not suppose that their numerous 
dead bodies add much to the dietary of the residents of the post-township 
of Gay Head, which the Gazetteer tells us, numbers "216, of partial Indian 
stock." 

The Gazetteer says, in a few words, " The promontory of Gay Head 
affords abundant miocene fossils." The authority which we have made our 
own tells us much more : " This headland is one of the most remarkable 
natural curiosities of New England, being composed of alternating strata of 
differently colored clays, red, white, yellow, green, and others, succeeding 
each other from base to summit, and displaying in the sunlight the most 
singular effects. Like all the region of southeastern Massachusetts, Martha's 
Vineyard furnishes the foundation and loca- 
tion for many a legend and tradition." Hard- 
ly ten miles southeastward from the shoulder 
of Martha's Vineyard is the tail of Nantucket 
Island, which on the map looks much like a 
huge shrimp. How the " moraine," or pebbly 
mass which constitutes the geological forma- 
tion of the island, got here is a problem 
with which scientists have amused and per- 
haps wearied themselves. Those who hold 
that during the " glacial period " huge ice- 
bergs, or ice-continents, came slowly plough- 
ing down from the North, got stranded in these shallow waters, warmed by the 
Gulf Stream, and melted away, depositing the stony fragments which they 
had torn off from the coasts of Labrador and the summits and slopes of what 
we now know as the White Mountains and the Green Mountains: those who 
thus hold and teach are quite likely not far from the truth. At all events, 
here is Nantucket, a bank of water-worn pebbles rising nowhere more than a 
few score feet above the present level of the ocean. 

Nantucket island, which also constitutes a county of Massachusetts, though 
it contains only one township, has an area of barely fifty square miles and is 
inhabited by about 3,100 people. There is good reason for believing that the 
Norsemen saw the island eight centuries ago, and that it formed a part of the 
region to which they gave the name of Vinland (" Wine-land "). They do 
not seem to have sailed much further south than this. With the exception 
■of the Round Tower at Newport, Rhode Island, and the curious inscribed 




GAY HEAD-LIGHT. 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 



stone at Dighton, in Massachusetts, we know of nothing on our New England- 
shores which anybody imagines to be the work of these ante-Columbian 
discoverers of America. 

The two following groups of views on Nantucket island wall give a fair 

idea of what is to 



be seen there dur- 
ing the spring, sum- 
mer, and autumn 
months. During 
the winter, for 
weeks at a time the 
few resident dwell- 
ers upon Nantucket 
are practically as 
far from the rest of 
the world as they 
are from the moon. 
They are frozen in 
for a time; but 
when w'arm weather 
comes again they 
do not appear to 
be any the worse 
for their hiberna- 
tion. We here have 
to do with what we 
can see in Nan- 
tucket during the 
surtimer time; and 
there are cor.trasts 

enough to suflfice our widest wish for variety. The artist has depicted not 
a few of these scenes better than we can do in words. 

Whittier, in one of the most spirited of his legendary poems, tells of what 
we may hold to be the first establishment of white folks on Nantucket, The 
date is placed at 1660. Thomas Macey, who lived not far from Newburyport, 
was threatened witli fine, imprisonment, and the whipping-post for having 
given the shelter of his roof to a "banished Quaker." To escape from their 




VIKWS AT NANTUCKET. 



^/^\ 




NAKTUCKET, MASS. 



S4 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

pursuers, he and his j'oung wife sprung into a little boat, and paddled out 
into the waters. We can trace almost every mile of this adventurous voyage 
of some 150 miles, mostly in open ocean, until they reached their destined 
liaven, of which they seem to have known nothing : 

By green Pentucket's southern slope the small boat glided fast ; 

The watchers of the " block house " saw the strangers as they passed. 

That night a stalwart garrison sat shaking in their shoes 

To hear the dip of Indian oars, the glide of birch canoes. 

The fisher-wives of Salisbury (the men were all away) 

Looked out to see the stranger oar upon their waters play. 

Deer Island's rocks and fir-trees threw their sunset shadows o'er them, 

And Newbury's spire and weather-cock peered o'er the pines before them. 

Around the Black Rocks, on their left, the marsh lay broad and green ; 

And on their right, with dwarf-shrubs crowned. Plum Island's hills were seen. 

With skilful hand and wary eye the harbor bar was crossed, 

A plaything of the restless wave, the boat on ocean tossed. 

The g\oTy' of the sunset-heaven on land and water lay ; 

On the steep hills of Agawam, on cape, and blufif, and bay. 

They passed the gray rocks of Cape Ann, and Gloucester's harbor-bar ; 

The watch-fire of the garrison shone like a setting star. 

Now brightly broke the morning on Massachusetts Bay ; 

Blue wave, and bright green island, rejoicing in the day! 

On passed the bark in safety, round isle and headland steep; 

No tempest broke above them, no fog-cloud veiled the deep. 

Far round the bleak and stormy cape, the venturous Macey passed. 
And on Nantucket's naked isle drew up his boat at last. 
And now, in log-built cabin, they braved the tough sea-weather; 
And there, in peace and quietness, went down life's vale together. 
How others drew around them, and how their fishing sped. 
Until to every wind of heaven Nantucket's sails were spread ; 
How pale Want alternated with Plenty's golden smile; — 
Behold, is it not written in the annals of the isle? 

And yet the isle remaineth a refuge for the free. 
As when true-hearted Macey beheld it from the sea: 
Free as the winds that winnow her shrubless hills of sand ; 
Free as the waves that batter along her yielding land 
Than hers, at duty's summons, no loftier spirit stirs, 
Nor falls o'er human suffering a readier tear than hers. 
God bless the sea-beat island ! and grant for evermore 
That charity and freedom dwell, as now, upon her shore. 

When Macey settled upon the island it liad an aboriginal population esti- 
mated at 1,500; within the ensuing century this gradually decreased to 350; 
in 1763 a pestilence carried off 222 of these. The last Indian of full blood 
died in 1821; the last of half-blood in 1854. Hardly ten years had passed 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 85 

before Nantucket became noted for its off-shore fisheries. The date of the 
capture of the first sperm-whale by Nantucket fishermen is given at the year 
171 2, and vessels of larger size, fitted for longer voyages, began to be em- 
ployed. In 1775 Nantucket had 150 whaling ships, which cruised as far as 
Davis Strait on the north and the coast of Brazil on the south. The war of 
the Revolution stopped this industry for the time; but after its close the 
business was revived with still greater activity. In 1791 the first whale-ship 
from Nantucket was sent to the Pacific. For another half century the busi- 
ness was a prosperous one. But in 1846 the town of Nantucket was well- 
nigh burnt down ; and from that time the whale-fishery from this place grew 
less and less, until it has come to be practically extinct. Among the causes 
of this falling off — total as far as Nantucket is concerned — we find the follow- 
ing enumerated by competent authority: "The scarcity of whales from their 
being so constantly hunted; the increasing use of gas and mineral oils; and 
the substitution of steel for whalebone in many articles of clothing, umbrellas, 
parasols, and the like, and of hard-rubber or vulcanite in other cases." In 
fact, petroleum wells and the india-rubber tree have pretty well driven whales 
out of the market as producers of oil and whalebone. 

The following figures show the fluctuations in the white population of the 
island at different periods: in 1763, 3,220; in 1774, 4,545, among whom w^re 
one clergyman, one lawyer, and two physicians; in 1784, 4,209; in 1800, 
5,617; in 1810, 6,807; i'"^ 1820, 7,202; in 1840, 9,712; this was the highest 
point ever reached, and from this time the population has gradually but 
steadily fallen off. In i860 it was 6,094; in 1870, 4,123 ; in 1880,3,727, As 
people do not die off rapidly there, the conclusion is inevitable that the emi- 
gration to other sections much more than counter-balanced the natural in- 
crease of population. 

Among all the locations which have been assigned to the Garden of Eden, 
we almost wonder that nobody has thought of naming the island of Nan- 
tucket. It would require no great strain of the imagination to recognize in 
the waters which encircle the sea-girt island, the " river which went out of 
Eden to water the garden, whence it was parted and became into four heads." 
Pison, Hiddekel, and Phrat, would be fairly enough represent-ed by the waters 
which circle the northern, western, and southern shores-, which have tidal and 
other currents that might well have led an early narrator, who had nothing 
but his own observations to rely upon, to suppose them to be veritable 
rivers. And as for the " Second river Gihon, that which compasseth the 



86 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

whole land of Ethiopia," how better could have been named the broad 
" ocean river " on the east, whose limits no man then could know, and of 
which we now know that in it is no inch of dry land until we reach the shores 
of the Eastern Continent, upon which must have been "the whole land of 
Ethiopia " — no matter how much or how little of the region may have been 
in the narrator's mind when he put down the score of words in which he 
describes it. 

As for soil and productions, we must acknowledge that the Nantucket 
which we know does not well correspond with our ideal of the Garden of 
Eden, wherein " the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to 
the sight and good for food " — to say nothing of those two wonderful trees, 
the "Tree of Life" and the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. ' Few 
things are rarer on our Nantucket than a tree of any kind. Instead of fruit- 
trees it now grows summer hotels, and bathing-places. 

As for climate, using the word in its widest sense — Nantucket comes well 
up to our idea of what the Garden of Eden might have been. For a time in 
winter the weather must be rather cold, since, as we are told, the surrounding 
waters are so frozen " that weeks go by without the possibility of passing to 
or from its shores." But it is not so much winter cold as summer heat that 
tells upon the human frame. Nantucket hardly knows what we call a " hot 
day." Year after year the highest temperature indicated by the thermometer 
is 86°, never going above 90°; and even in a hot day "there is a never-failing 
succession of breezes blowing over the land," which render the markings of 
the thermometer no correct indications of the temperature as felt by the 
human system. In a word, never, for more than a few hours in succession, 
does anybody think it very hot at Nantucket. 

The sanitary effects of the climate are set forth in a paragraph which we 
quote from what we judge to be good authority: "Within a few years 
there has happened a period when upward of one-ninth of the population of 
the island was over 70 years old. During one recent year there were JJ 
deaths, and of this number 'J2 per cent lived to the age of 73 years. Five of 
these deaths were of persons over 90 years of age; fifteen had lived over 80 
years, and eighteen over 70 years. There were but eleven deaths under "^^6 
years of age, and of these 8 were babes under one year old. The remaining 
ages were, one of 16 and two of 25. Surely," adds the writer, "there must 
be something ' life-giving ' in the sanitary condition of the island so to prolong 
existence and lower the death-rate." He says, furthermore, that those who 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 87 

come here only for a brief sojourn find immediate benefits from this sea-girt 
sanatorium, " which they are often able to note from the very first hour of 
their coming; persons sojourning here invariably find the appetite and the 
inclination to sleep largely increased during their visits; and the benefits to 
health here received are permanent, and to be carried away and enjoyed by 
the recipient wherever he may go. It will," he says in conclusion, "be a 
sufficient recommendation of Nantucket, as a place of summer resort, to say 
that here one may be sure of finding cool nights for sleeping, and never a 
mosquito to hum his lullaby." 

But Newport and Nantasket, Plymouth and Provincetown, Martha's Vine- 
yard and Nantucket, and all the hundreds of fair places around and between, 
do not constitute the entire New England Coast. Indeed, they form only a 
very small part of it, as a glance at any map will show. We propose to con- 
tinue this summer tour of ours to a region where nature works for our delec- 
tation with rock rather than with sand atid where there are besides ocean 
shores inland lakes and ponds innumerable : the region, in short of which 
Whittier, writing " First, Nov. 26th, 1887," says: 

"Gems of the Northland, never yet 
Were lakes in lovelier valleys set, 
Glassing the granites and the pines 
That mark New Hampshire's mountain lines. 

'And not less fair the winding ways 
Of Casco and Penobscot bays. 
They seek for happier shores in vam, 
Who leave the summer isles of Maine." 

Our proposed trip — already accomplished, notes of which are to follow — 
covered much more territory than this. From Boston we are to go by rail 
to Lake Winnipiseogee, in New Hampshire ; thence to Portland in Maine, 
and to the celebrated summer resort near by known as Mount Desert Island. 

Leaving Nantucket Island, a steamer carries us back, past Martha's Vine- 
yard to Wood's Holl, at the southwestern shoulder of Cape Cod. A detached 
bar of the Old Colony Railroad gridiron comes down here. We leave the 
water, and take to the rail, skirting the western and northern sides of Buz- 
zard's Bay. For want of more exciting topics of inquiry we try to find out 
how this bit of water came by its name. We are told by one that in former 
times the " buzzard," a pretty big kind of fishing-bird, which some naturahsts 
describe as " an inferior sort of eagle, having a rather small and weak bill," 



88 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

used to abound hereabouts, where they managed to pick up a comfortable 
living by catching fish. Another informant was quite as confident that a 
certain Mr. Buzzard had his home hereabouts, and gave his own name to the 
bay. After all, the stories are not contradictory. Who knows that both are 
not " founded on fact ?" At all events, we get back to Boston by rail, and 
the Map and Gazetteers tell us of not a few pleasant places along the route 
which we might have seen had we looked out from the windows of the cars — 
which we did not do to any great extent. 

We reached Boston late at night, but were ready to set out early next 
morning for " fresh fields and pastures new." The " Boston and Maine Rail- 
road," a union of several lines originally distinct, but now under one general 
management, foreseeing our wants, and those of many others with more or 
less money in their purses, has made provision to carry us as far as we 
propose to go — and much farther, indeed, if we had wished. The Com- 
pany furnishes excellent facilities for reaching the various points of interest 
on the route. It operates three distinct lines between Boston and Port- 
land, a distance of a little more than one hundred miles in a straight 
course. The eastern line runs along the Atlantic coast, rarely at a dis- 
tance of ten miles. The western line starts from Worcester, not quite 
fifty miles southwest of Boston, where it connects with other railways run- 
ning in every direction. About midway between these routes, and nearly 
parallel with both, is the middle line by which we are to travel. There is 
rarely anywhere a distance of a score of miles between one of these lines and 
the one next to it, and all are connected at frequent intervals. 

Starting from the main station in Haymarket Square — so-called because 
not many years ago sloops and barges laden with hay used to come up here 
and deposit their bulky cargoes — our train heads northwestward toward the 
Merrimac River, as though we w^ere going to touch at Lowell, twenty-five 
miles from Boston, and next to it in the State in point of population, having a 
few hundred more inhabitants than Worcester, its close rival. The Merrimac, 
rising among the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and having a total 
length of about 150 miles, is perhaps the most industrious river in the world. 
Every cubic foot of its water is set to work spinning or weaving, especially at 
Lowell, at Nashua, fourteen miles, and Manchester, about as much more above 
Lowell, and at Lawrence ten miles below. These great manufacturing cities 
have a population of about 160,000; and not one of them could have been 
more than a quiet agricultural \illage save for the Merrimac River which 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 89 

stood ready to turn innumerable water-wheels as soon as anybody should ask 
it so to do. 

Lowell, the oldest and the largest of these cities, was never dreamed of 
seventy years ago. About 1674, John Eliot, "the apostle to the Indians," 
was preaching to the natives hereabouts. On one spring Sunday he and his 
companion, Daniel Gookin, were hospitably entertained " at the wigwam of 
one called Wannalancet, near Pawtucket Falls in the Merrimack River." 
Gookin, in his " Historical Collections of the Indians in New England," gives 
an instructive account of Eliot's method of Christianizing the Indians. We 
may, with no great stretch of the imagination, believe that he describes what 
actually took place on that bright May Sunday in 1674, in the very centre of 
the spot at the foot of the Pawtucket Falls, around which has within the mem- 
ory of men now living grown up the " City of Spindles. ' Gookin says: 

" Besides preaching to them, he framed two catechisms in the Indian 
tongue, containing the principles of the Christian religion — a lesser for 
children, and a larger for older persons. These also he communicated unto 
the Indians gradually, a few questions at a time, according unto their capacity 
to receive them. His manner was, after he had begun the meeting with 
prayer, then first to catechise the children. Then he would encourage them 
with some small gift, as an apple or a small biscuit, which he caused to be 
brought for the purpose. And by his prudence and winning practice the 
children were induced with delight to get into their memories the principles 
of the Christian religion. When the catechising was past he would preach to 
them upon some portion of Scripture for about three-quarters of an hour, 
and then give liberty to the Indians to propound questions, and, in the close, 
finish all with prayer." 

What with preliminary catechising the children, a sermon of three-quarters 
of an hour, subsequent catechising of the grown-up Indians, and the inter- 
spersed prayers, we imagine that this first Christian service of which we have 
any record held at what is now Lowell, must have occupied some four or five 
hours. Religious services there are in our days much shorter. A century 
and a half passes before we get another glimpse at these Pawtucket Falls on 
the Merrimac, which effectually barred all passage up the river for boats or 
even fish. But this stoppage o( fish was a godsend to the Indians, for it gave 
them, in proper season, the best fishing-ground in the region. They could 
literally scoop them up by the boat-load with their bare hands from among 
the broken rocks at the foot of the Falls, where their upward course was 



90 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR l.EPUBLIC: 

stopped; for we suppose nothing that swims could ascend these falls, or 
rather rapids, which in the space of three or four miles have a descent of 
perhaps fifty feet. It happens that the writer of these pages spent several 
years of his boyhood at Lowell, then rapidly growing into a manufacturing 
town ; and he has seen the fish (notably lamprey-eels) caught by the barrelful 
by hand. Only once since — and that more than twenty years ago — has h'e 
seen Lowell. He would then have scarcely known the place. Still less 
would he recognize it now, as he found it described in a recent work, which 
he happened to have with him. 

" Pawtucket and Wamesit, where the Indians resorted in the fishing season, 
are now Lowell, the city of spindles and Manchester of America, which sends 
its cotton cloth around the globe. The water power was not utilized until 
1 82 1, when some Boston men set up a factory here. In 1823 the Merrimac 
cotton mills were started. Now Lowell's textile factories employ a capital 
of nearly $20,000,000, running 25,000 looms and almost 1,000,000 spindles. 
They produce annually 240,000,000 yards of cotton cloth, 10,000,000, }'ards 
of woollens, 3,500,000 yards of carpetings, 120,000 shawls, 16,500,000 pairs of 
hose, and 100,000,000 yards of cloth are dyed and printed. In a word, Lowell 
weaves enough cotton cloth to furnish every man, woman, and child in the 
United States with five yards a year. Lowell was incorporated as a city in 
1836; in 1840 its population was 21,000; in i860, 37,000; in 1870, 41,000; in 
1880, 60,000; and is now fully 70,000, the larger half of whom are employed in 
the mills, the wheels of all of which are turned by the water of the Merrimac. 
It would be a curious inquiry hov.- many hundreds of thousands of human 
beings could do the mechanical work performed by the Merrimac at this one 
point. And, moreover, at Lawrence, ten miles below, the river does quite 
half as much work as at Lowell, and fully as much more at Nashua and 
Manchester, a few miles above." 

These speculations occupy our thoughts while we are carried inland to the 
beautiful lake Winnipiseogee. This lake, which lies about 470 feet above the 
sea level, is about 25 miles long, the greatest breadth being less than half as 
much, and its surface consists to a good degree of narrow baj's or coves jut- 
ting up into the land in all sorts of directions; not seldom, if these bays had 
shoved a little further, they would have made their way into other little lakes, 
or ponds. As it is, however, we suppose that their waters, fed by brooks in- 
numerable, find their own way into Winnipiseogee, and thence into tlie 
Merrimac, of which it is the main reservoir, keeping its waters at an almost 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 91 

equal volume throughout the year, and year after year, much as Superior and 
Michigan and Huron .and Erie do for the mighty St. Lawrence. Indeed, 
were it not for the storehouse of Lake Winnipiseogee, the Merrimac could 
not have become the useful servitor to man which it now is. It would have 
been a mountain torrent overflowing in the spring, and with but scanty water 
in summer and autumn. 

One may make a tolerably good map of Winnipiseogee by laying his left 
hand and wrist, palm downward, upon a sheet of paper, spreading the fingers, 
and marking around them with a pencil. But he must not omit to adorn 
thumb, fingers, and wrist with island jewels to his heart's content, for their 
actual number is almost past counting, and their names, in Indian, Yankee, 
and what not, afford material for many an hour of philological study. 

The most admirable Timothy D wight, for a full score of years (1795 to 
1 8 16) President of Yale College, was wont to spend his annual vacation in 
what were then considered long excursions ; and long they were if we con- 
sider the weeks rather than the number of miles which they occupied. Besides 
his merits as a theologian, Dwight was an ardent lover of nature, and a poet 
of no mean rank. We are told that, in these excursions, " he journeyed through 
the neighboring States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and 
New York; visited the White Mountains, Lake George, Montauk, Niagara, 
the Kaatskills, etc., keeping notes of his journeys, written out in the form 
of letters, which were published after his death, under the title of ' Travels in 
New England and New York.' " 

Of one of the earliest of these journeys we find the following prefatory 
mention in Dennie's " Farmer's Museum," published at Walpole, N. H., under 
date of September 25th, 1797: "This morning the truly respectable President 
of Yale College proceeded from this village on a journey to the Upper Coos; 
whence, we understand, he intends passing over the White Mountains, His 
rugged tour will, we hope, be relieved by those civilities which are due to the 
gentleman, the scholar, and the unaffected Christian." 

It was not in this journey, but in one made ten or more years later, that 
Dwight first saw Lake Winnipiseogee; he expresses his wonder that while 
Lake George was annually visited by numerous people from New England, 
" Winnipisaukee, notwithstanding all its accumulation of splendor and ele- 
gance, is almost as much unknown to the inhabitants of this country as if it 
lay on the eastern side of the Caspian." The simple fact is that seventy or 
even fifty years ago Winnipiseogee was actually farther from Boston than 



92 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

any spot in the Heart of the Rockies now is. All this has been changed; and 
now " this most exquisite jewel in the lake necklace of New England," as it 
has been well styled, is within a few hours of any point in our Eastern States. 

Of some of the neighboring lakes Thomas Starr King — true poet as he 
was, though we have never seen'a'line of verse composed by him — writes: 
" There is Great Squam, singularly striped with long, narrow, crinkling 
islands, and Little Squam, unbroken by islands, fringed and shadowed by 
thickets of the richest foliage that are disposed around its western shore in 3. 
long sweeping curve-line which will be remembered as a delightful melody o»f 
the eye. . . . The larger lake, though not a fourth part so large as 
Winnipiseogee, is doubtless the most beautiful of all the small sheets of 
water in New England ; and it has been pronounced by one gentleman, no 
less careful in his words than cultivated in his tastes, more charmingly em- 
bosomed in the landscape than any lake of equal size he had ever seen in 
Europe or America." 

In default of any description of our own we quote a few paragraphs from 
Mr. Ernest Ingersoll: 

" Red Hill has a summit at the northern end over 2,000 feet high, the 
picture visible from which, as many men have gazed upon the noted land- 
scapes of the world will tell you, is unequalled in either continent for that 
enduring quality which we call loveliness. Its extent alone is worth noting. 
Kearsarge and Monadnock are plainly visible at the southw^est, and in the 
west the eye reaches far over the hills toward the Connecticut. Turning to 
the right, where Squam Lake is glittering in the foreground of the west, Mt. 
Cardigan, the hills along the Connecticut, and more to the northward, the 
immense mass of Moosilauke are seen; then the Franconia Mountains far 
away over nearer ranges. The huge dome of Sandwich cuts oiT the north for 
a space, hiding the White Mountains and their neighbors as far as Carrigain, 
of which a portion only is revealed, with a part of the slide-marked Tri-pyra- 
mid at its right. And so the eye is led around to the shapely broadside of 
the Ossipee, and the circle is complete. What fills this circle as you rest }-our 
gaze in the southward ? Winnipiseogee — * fashioned with every elegance of 
figure, bordered with the most beautiful winding shores, and studded with a 
multitude of islands,' as Dwight expressed it; 'liquid silver run into a vessel 
of unequal surface,' as Isaacs fancied it to be; 'islands and shores that fringe 
the water with winding lines and long narrow capes of green,' as Starr King 
paints it in words, more truly than can be done by the pencil of the artist." 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 93 

From Winiiipiseogee one may well hesitate whether to go first to the 
White Mountains a little northward, or to turn eastward, toward the Atlantic 
coast. We choose the latter; and what is styled "the Northern Division of 
the Boston and Maine Railroad " is ready to take us whither we will. We 
have elected to make Portland, the principal seaport in Maine, our next 
objective point. 

Of Portland, as a city, there is not very much to be said here. We read 
in a reliable Gazetteer, that it is beautifully situated on a peninsula at the 
southwestern extremity of Casco Bay. It was first named Falmouth; was 
settled by an English colony in 1632, and was three times b-urned in the wars 
with the French and Indians. It possesses broad, shaded streets, and hand- 
some public and private edifices, at the same time forming a centre to the 
numerous watering-places within reach, where the purest of sea air can be 
found The harbor is one of the best on the Atlantic coast ; the anchorage 
being protected on every side by land, the communication with the ocean 
easy and direct, and tlie depth sufficient for the largest ships; although in a 
northern latitude (about 44° N., or some 140 miles north of Boston), it is 
never entirely closed by ice, even in the coldest weather." 

Simply as a harbor, we doubt if there is in the world a finer one than this 
of Portland. Not improbably, some generations hence, Portland may come 
to be a great commercial city, being the natural emporium for the trade 
between the Old World and that vast region which we now know as the 
" Dominion of Canada." But, as it is, the growth of Portland has not been 
a rapid one. In 1830 its population was 12,000; in 1840, 15,000; in 1850^ 
20,000; in i860, 26,000 in 1870, 31,000; in 1880, 34,000. Its population in 
1889 was estimated to be about 40,000. 

From Portland there is ready communciation by steamer all along the 
Atlantic coast as far south as Boston, and as far north as Eastport, on the 
eastern frontier of the United States, where it abuts on the Canadian province 
of New Brunswick and looks across the Bay of Fundy to the Canadian penin- 
sula of Nova Scotia, which, with New Brunswick, would at the present time 
be worth more to us than all the rest of what we used to know as " Upper " 
and " Lower " Canada. The area is not very large, being about equal to that 
of the State of New York, with a population of something less than a million 
— about one-fifth of that of the entire Dominion of Canada. 

Our next point, going from Portland, is Mount Desert Island, just off the 
coast of Maine, from which it is separated by a channel a mile wide. We 



94 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

might have gone thither (that is to a point on the neighboring mainland op- 
posite the island) by rail; but we have decided to go by water. Our steamer 
(her name is the "City of Richmond ") leaves Portland about midnight, upon 
the arrival of the train which started from Boston at seven in the morning, 
and is due at Bar Harbor, on Mount Desert, at noon the next day. As 
morning breaks we find ourselves thridding the islets which stud Penobscot 
Bay, which, says Mr. Noah Brooks, " are covered, for the most part, with fir, 
spruce, and larch. The shores are bold and rocky, and rich tones of brown, 
gray, and purple are reflected in the silvery tide." As the sun begins to ap- 
proach mid-heaven we see ahead of us the summits of a cluster of hills. These 
are the precipices of Bar Harbor Head, the southernmost point of the island 
of Mount Desert, surmounted by a lighthouse. 

The island is about fifteen m.iles long with an extreme breadth of twelve 
miles, and has a resident population of about 4,000. It embraces seven par- 
allel ranges of granite mountains, with deep and narrow valleys between. 
The loftiest point attains an altitude of nearly i,8co feet above its base, against 
which break the long Atlantic swells. This is the highest point of land along 
the entire Atlantic coast. One of these valleys, which is cut down clear to 
the \\-ater's edge, almost divides the island, " giving it the shape of a pair of 
well-stuffed saddle-bags." The northern extremity of the island consists 
mainly of irregular foot-hills, with an area of arable land along the shore, 
which here approaches the mainland so closely that the interval is crossed by 
a bridge. At the southwestern extremit}- of the island is an almost level 
plateau. Upon the southern and eastern shores the mountains come sheer 
down to the ocean, often without a yard of beach. Mount Desert is growing 
year by year more and more a place of summer resort. At present, if one 
wants to pass a few weeks in a manner different from that to which he has 
been accustomed, this is the place for him. How long this will continue to 
be the case no man can say: most likely not for any very long time. 

Even now one, if he so pleases, can live at Mount Desert very much as he 
might have done at Newport or Coney Island, at Saratoga or Cape May, or 
anywhere else; for we are told, upon authorit}' of a little Handbook put forth 
a >'ear ago by the " Passenger Department of the Grand Trunk Railway," 
that the island has a prosperous community engaged in cod and mackerel 
fishing, and has some twenty excellent hotels." We may rest assured that 
the Bar Harbor Bonifaces catch fatter fish on shore than do their neighbors 
wlio fling their hooks for cod and mackerel into the brin}- deep. Not very 



96 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

long ago Mr. Charles Dudley Warner gave a lively picture of society life on 
Mount Desert. He says: 

" Except in some of the cottages at Bar Harbor, it might be said that 
society was on a ' lark.' The young ladies liked to appear in nautical and 
lawn-tennis toilets. As to the young gentlemen, if there were any dress-coats 
on the island, they took pains not to display them, but delighted in appearing" 
in the evening promenade in the nondescript suits that made them so con- 
spicuous in the morning — the favorite being a dress erf stripes, with a striped 
jockey-cap to match. . . . 

"But the principal occupation at Bar Harbor was out-door exercise: in- 
. cessant activity in driving, walking, boating, rowing and sailing, bowling, ten- 
nis, and flirtation. There was always an excursion somewhere, by land or 
sea; watermelon parties; races in the harbor, in which the girls took part; 
drives on buckboards, which they organized. Indeed, the canoe and the 
buckboard were in constant demand. This activity, this desire to row and 
walk and drive, and to become acquainted, was all due to the air. It has a 
peculiar quality. It composes the nerves to sleep; it stimulates to unwonted 
exertion. The fanatics of the place say that the fogs are not damp as at 
other resorts on the coast. Fashion can make even a fog dry. But the air 
is delicious. In this latitude, and by reason of the hills, the atmosphere is 
pure and elastic and stimulating, and it is softened by the presence of the sea." 

Commenting upon the foregoing passage, Mr. Ernest Ingersoll says: " We 
came to know (and hereby testify to) the solemn truth of all that, excepting^ 
perhaps the ' dry fogs,' of which we heard much, but saw nothing, though it 
was a good year for fogs." 

Let us admit, causa arginncnti, that Mount Desert may be an Arcadia for 
those who carry such a thing about with them ; if otherwise, they will not 
find it on the New England Coast, or anywhere else. 

For a few sentences more we must stand indebted to Mr. Ernest Ingersoll,. 
although we quote with very much condensation: 

" Nowhere in America are lovelier summer houses. The island is almost 
engirdled with a row of cottages, great and small. But the word ' cottage ' 
here is as expansive as at Newport or Saratoga. The rise in the value of real 
estate has been most extraordinary. A lot of forty acres was bought in i88a 
for $2,500, which has since paid its owner $46,000. Land at Bar Harbor is 
now cheap aJ: $25,000 an acre, and for some $125,000 has been paid. Desira- 
ble cottages have appreciated in proportion; one small one was pointed out 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 97 

as having gone from $3,000 to $11,000 between 1882 and 1885. The people 
of the island are thriving greatly under this new state of things, so that Mount 
Desert, from being one of the most forsaken; hardest-working and poorest- 
living corners of Yankee-land, has become one of the most prosperous and 
easy." 



THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 




HIS remarkable range, called by enthusiastic travellers "The Switz- 
erland of America," and known to the Indians as Agiocochook, 
"The Mountain of the Snowy Forehead and Home of the Great 
Spirit," is situated in Coos and Grafton Counties, N. H., and consists of a 
plateau 1,600 feet above sea level and having the general form of a parallelo- 
gram, from which rise several clusters of peaks, a number of which are 
among the highest in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. It is 
believed that the first white man who visited them was Walter Neal, who left 
sufficient records to establish the fact that he was at least partially familiar 
with the region as early as 1632. Shortly before the Revolutionary war an 
attempt was made to explore it, with the result of the discovery of the Notch, 
and after the war considerable attention was turned toward it. That the 
wonders of the locality had become somewhat known and appreciated at this 
period, seems evidenced by the fact that a shelter, where-warmth, food, and 
liquors could be obtained, was erected in 1803. The summit of Mount Wash- 
ington, the highest peak in the eastern cluster, having an altitude of 6,285 feet, 
was rendered accessible by a bridle path in 18 19, and by 1852 travel had grown 
to an extent that warranted the erection of a hotel. The region then attained 
a popularity as a summer mountain resort that has never since flagged in the 
least. As there are two periods in the year when the grandeur of the scenery 
is presented in its most perfect wealth of tinge and cloud-effects: the latter 
half of June and the first half of October; it has become a favorite custom 
with tourists and summer travellers to precede or supplement a season at the 
popular springs or seaside resorts with a trip to the White Mountains. The 
location of the principal attractions is such that they may be reached by any 
one of half a dozen or more routes and from as many starting points. But the 
course most generally pursued is to begin the ascent at North Conway, N. H., 
near Mount Kearsarge, which belongs to the southeastern cluster. The village 



08 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 



overlooks the intervals of the Saco River, and is surrounded on all sides by 
mountains. East of it is the Rattlesnake Ridge of hills, Middle Mountain top- 
ping them all, and but a short distance northward is Mount Kearsarge or Pe- 
quawket, rising to a height of 3,367 feet. To the westward is seen the cluster 
called the Moat Mountains, with the peak of Chocorua, "The Old Bear," a 
mass of granite with but little vegetation, 3,358 feet high, in the distance. The 
chief attraction of the place is the magnificent view of the valley of the Saco, 
where the great dome of Mount Washington, changing almost hourly in ap- 
pearance, form.s an impenetrable curtain across the vista. In the immediate 
neighborhood of North Conway are the Artist's Falls, a pretty descent of 




MOAT MOUNTAIN FROM NORTH CONWAY, N. H. 

water in the midst of a patch of forest ; Echo Lake,* a beautiful sheet of 
water lying at the foot of Moat Mountains, and on- the opposite side of the 
river; the Cathedral, a cavity in the granite, with a wall eighty feet high, 
which, inclining outward, forms a magnificent arch that is met on the other 
side by a wall of great trees; the White Horse displayed upon the perpendi- 
cular sides of the clifTs that extend a distance of four or five miles and are 
from 100 to 800 feet high; Diana's Bath, a little to the north of the Cathe- 
dral, and Mount Kearsarge, the highest peak south of the mountains in this 
direction, from which the best view of the entire White Mountain range is 
obtained. 

While the spectacles of natural grandeur that are visible at every turn are 
thrilling and awe-inspiring, the supreme pleasure of a trip to this region is to 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 99 

be found in the ascent of Mount Washington. The bridle path alluded to 
went up the mountain side in almost a straight line; but the carriage-road, 
begun in 1855, completed to The Ledge — four miles from the base — in 1856,. 
and opened for travel from base to summit in 1861, winds round the ledge 
and up the mountain side, making nearly double the distance. In 1866 the 
construction of a railroad to the summit was begun, and three years after- 
ward completed. Of these routes the carriage-road is doubtless the most 
popular; but many tourists make the journey of eight miles at least one way 
by rail. During the four first miles of the carriage-road trip, but little is seen 
save the forest. At the Ledge, however, the vehicle emerges from the thick 
woods, and the first glories of the ascent appear. The road winds between 
Mounts Washington, Clay, and Jefferson, passes eastward at the Great Gulf, 
and then rises over several plateaus till it reaches the level ground of the 
summit. By making the ascent by way of the old bridle-path the tourist will 
pass over the tops of four lower summits of the ridge after leaving the Notch, 
each one a little higher than the preceding, and from the Glen directly up 
Mount Washington itself. On the right is an enormous ravine, down which 
a singular view is afforded of Mounts Jefferson, Adams, and Madison from 
base to crown. The Glen is eight miles from Gorham, and among the at- 
tractions of its vicinity are the Imp, a peak of the Moriah Mountain whose 
summit resembles a grotesque human face from a distance ; Mount Carter, 
3,000 feet high and an unbroken mass of forest from base to crown ; the 
great " Gulf of Mexico," across whose waters fall the changing shadows of 
Mount Clay according as its upper regions are clear or enveloped with clouds; 
the pyramidal peak of Mount Adams, the grandest of all in shape and im- 
pressiveness; and Mount Madison. The remarkable effect which this scenery 
has upon the imagination will be greatly intensified when it is known or 
remembered that Mount Washington is 6,285 ^^^^ high. Mount Clay 5,400, 
Mount Jefferson 5,700, Mount Adams 5,800, and Mount Madison 5,361. 
Beside these peaks there are in the vicinity the Garnet Pools, a series of 
basins in the Peabody River near the Gorham road, exhibiting many curious 
phases of natural rock sculpture; Thompson's Falls on the North Conway 
road, and two miles below the Glen House, a series of charming cascades and 
water-slides; Emerald Pool; the Glen Ellis Fall, where the Ellis River shoots 
twenty feet over the cliff and then falls sixty feet into a dark-green pool; 
Crystal Cascade, one mile from Glen Ellis Fall and three from the Glen 
House, where the water, part of which comes from the very dome of Mount. 



loo THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

Washington, has a fall of eighty feet, seen to the best advantage from the 
high bank opposite the foot of the fall ; and Tuckerman's Ravine, which 
carries the water from Mount Washington to the Crystal Cascade, an enor- 
mous gulf in the southerly side of the peak with walls 1,000 feet high, and 
■containing a beautiful snow cavern formed by a spring stream flowing 
through "the mass of snow several hundred feet deep that collects there 
during the winter season. 

From the village of Gorham, N. H., on the eastern side of the mountains, 
the ascent of Mount Washington can be made in one day by way of the Glen 
House. The distance from Gorham to the Notch is thirty-two miles, and 
the Cherry Mountain road abounds in pretty spectacles. The beauties of 
Mount Moriah, Mount Carter, and the Imp are here seen to better advantage 
than elsewhere; the Pilot range of mountains rise on the northwest; while 
at the east and southeast stand the Androscoggin hills, from the highest of 
-which, Mount Hayes, 2.500 feet high, a magnificent view is obtained of 
Mounts Adams and Jefferson, while Washington itself from this point seems 
invested with additional grandeur. Fronting Mount Hayes is Mount Surprise, 
a spur of Moriah. 1,200 feet high, whose crown is easy of access by foot or 
horse. At its summit there is no obstruction- to the view of the " Presiden- 
tial ' mountains, and there is no other eminence where one can get so near 
those monarchs of rock and forest. This point also commands a grand view 
of the great cleft between Mount Carter and the White Mountains, through 
which the Peabody River flows, as the summit of Mount Willard commands 
the Notch and the Saco River. A capital pedestrian tour for those who can 
depend upon their legs may be made from the Alpine House at Gorham by 
riding to the base of Mount Madison, at the foot of Randolph Hill, then 
footing it up Madison, passing over its summit, continuing around or over 
the sharp pyramid of Adams, over Jefferson between the humps of Clay, and 
thence to the summit of Washington. The tramp can be made between 
sunrise and sunset. Another attraction of Gorham, and by many considered 
the best, is Berlin Falls, six miles from the Alpine House. The entire scenery 
is wild and noble. The Androscoggin River here pours down a rocky gate- 
way. The mountains seem to overhang the stream, which, having the ap- 
pearance of a long, swift rapid, is broken here and there by a direct and 
powerful fall. In the course of a mile the river descends nearly 200 feet, and 
as the road winds directly by the river the entire panorama may be viewed 
^without the effort of rock climbinor. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. loi 



The ascent of Mount Washington may also be made from the Crawford 
House, and at one time this route was very popular. A bridle-path leads 
over tile summits of Mount Clinton, Mount Pleasant, Mount Franklin, and 
Mount Monroe, but the railroad and carriage-path from the Glen House are 
now usually preferred. The ascent by rail may be made from the Crawford 
House, the Twin Mountain House, and the Fabyan House. The grade of the 
road is 3,596 feet in three miles, and in some places is one foot in every three. 
The rails are three in number, bolted to a heavy trestlework of timber, the 
centre one resembling a ladder, between whose rounds the cogs of a wheel on 
the engine find an unfailing purchase. However great the inclination of the 

cars may be, the seats maintain a 
uniformly horizontal position. 
The ascent is made in an hour 
and a half. 

The Notch, the gate to which 
is near the Crawford House, is a 
great gorge in the mountains 
which rise on either side to a 
height of 2.000 feet At the 
Gateway these mountains, Web- 
ster on the right and Willey on 
the left, are only twenty-two 
feet apart. Ethan's Pond lies 
placidly at the top of Willey 
Mountain, and the great stone 
face of the Old Maid of the Mountain peers out from a spur of Mount Web 
ster. The Devil's Pulpit is near the gate of the Notch, and close by are the 
profiles of the Infant and the Young Man of the Mountain. Near the sum- 
mit of Mount Willard is the Devil's Den, a cavern accessible by means of 
ropes. Proceeding a short distance down the Notch, the tourist meets the 
Flume, a narrow, deep gorge through which the waters rush with great 
rapidity ; and the most beautiful of all the falls on this side the mountain, the 
Silver Cascade, which is seen to admirable advantage on a moonlight even- 
ing. Three miles beyond the Willey Memorial House is the Sylvan Glade 
Cataract, considered by veteran travellers the most beautiful and impressive 
waterfall in the entire range of mountains. A mile above the cataract are 
several minor falls, the chief of which is the Sparkling Cascade. The fol- 




THROUGH THE FKANCOMA NOTCH. 



I02 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 



lowing is the name and height of each mountain of the range, in its order, 
beginning at the Notch: Mount Webster, 4,000 feet ; Mount Jackson, 4,100; 
Mount Clinton, 4,200; Mount Pleasant, 4,800; Mount Franklin, 4,900; Mount 
Monroe, 5,400; Mount Washington, 6,285 J Mount Clay, 5,400; Mount Jefferson, 

5,700; Mount Adams, 
5,800; and Mount 
Madison, 5,400. 

The F r a n c o n i a 
Mountains, though to- 
tally distinct and pe- 
culiar, are usually con- 
sidered a part of the 
White Mountain 
range, and are always 
visited in connection 
with it. • Two roads 
lead from Bethlehem 
to the Notch in this 
range, and both ex- 
tend over a high hill, 
from the summit of 
which the whole of 
the range is compre- 
hended in front, with 
the head of Lafay- 
ette rising above them 
all, and the dark por- 
tal of the notch ap- 
pears on the right. 
The Profile House is 
in the immediate vi- 
cinity of Echo Lake, 
a sheet of water of 
great depth and transparency, surrounded by green hills, and navigable by 
small boats; Cannon Mountain, or, as it is sometimes called. Profile Mountain, 
receiving its first name from the resemblance to a great gun which a rock 
upon its summit exhibits, and the second from the great stone face, or Old 




THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN. 



104 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

Man of the Mountain, that appears on the southern extremity of ics crown; 
Eagle CHff, a huge columnar crag, separated from the rest of the mountain, 
and rising perpendicularly, the former eyrie of a family of eagles; Bald 
Mountain; the Cascade; Profile Lake, known also as Ferrier's Pond and the 
Old Man's Washbowl; and Mount Lafayette, 1,200 feet below Mount Wash- 
ington in height. Among the other attractions of the Franconia range are 
the Basin, a granite bowl, sixty feet in circumference and fifteen feet deep, 
into which the waters of the Pemigewasset River, flowing from Profile Lake, 
and passing over a rocky ledge, fall ; the Cascades below the outlet of the 
Basin ; the great Flume, where the walls of rock approach within ten feet of 
each other, and hold in their unrelenting embrace about midway to the 
bottom a huge granite boulder weighing several tons ; the Cascade below it ; 
the Pool, directly in front of the hotel; and Georgianna, or Harvard, Falls, 
two miles below the Flume House, where the water plunges over the preci- 
pice in two leaps of eighty feet each. 

Another great curiosity of this part of New Hampshire is a remarkable 
pass, some sixty miles north of the White Mountains, and narrower than 
either of the great notches of the W'hite Hills, known as the Dixville Notch. 
About half-way through the notch is Table Rock, a lofty, projecting pinnacle, 
from which one may look into Maine, Vermont, and Canada. / 

To fully enjoy the marvellous scenery and grand monuments of nature in 
the White Mountains, at least two weeks' time should be allowed. And even 
with that and a constant riding and tramping, there w^ill be much left over for 
a second season. But whether the weird region is visited once or more fre- 
quently, there can never be any lessening of interest, exhaustion of novelty, 
or regret at the expenditure of time, money, and energy. 



THE RANGELEY LAKES. 




HE Rangeley Lakes, often called the Androscoggin Lakes, are 
principally located in the western portion of the State of Maine, 
but about one-half of the lowest lake in the chain is situated in 
New Hampshire. There are six lakes in this remarkable series, but they are 
all connected by streams and form a continuous water-course for almost sixty 
miles. For the most part they lie in a densely wooded region, and they are 
among the most picturesque sheets of water to be found in the country. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 105 

The one unfortunate thing pertaining to them is the character of the names 
which they have received. They are known as the Oquossoc (the original 
Rangeley), Cupsuptic, Mooselucmaguntic, Molechunkamunk, Welokenneba- 
cook, and Umbagog. The latter is partly in New Hampshire, and along its 
southern shore agricultural operations have been commenced. In the valley 
of the Magalloway River, one of the connecting streams, and around a con- 
siderable portion of Oquossoc Lake, there are also a good many farms. The 
remainder of this large territory remains in its original condition of a wilderness. 

While the region of the Rangeley Lakes is very beautiful and will prove 
attractive to all lovers of Nature, it is especially adapted to meet the wants of 
those who like to spend a considerable portion of their time in hunting and 
fishing. There are several good hotels, though they are not as numerous as 
they are at many summer resorts. But for parties who wish to " camp out," 
hunt, fish, take long walks, and spend most of their time in the open air it is a 
magnificent place. It is one of the very best sections for the sportsman, both 
as regards the qualit}'- of the game, and the degree of success attending its 
pursuit. Animals of various kinds, and in large numbers, are found in the 
adjacent mountains, while beautiful trout and other fine varieties of fish 
abound in the lakes. During the last of June and the first half of July, flies 
and mosquitoes are som.ewhat troublesome, but by proper precautions their 
attacks may be largely prevented. The lakes are from 1,250 to 1,500 feet 
above the sea, and lie among high mountains. Consequently the air is cool, 
even in summer, and an extra supply of warm clothing is indispensable to 
the comfort of the tourist who takes his vacation in this elevated region. 

The Rangeley Lakes are easily reached by the Grand Trunk Railroad. 
Portland, Maine, is the best point of departure. There are several trains per 
day, which are met at Bethel, about seventy miles from Portland, by stages 
which make the trip to Cambridge, New Hampshire, in about five hours. 
This town is located at the foot of Lake Umbagog. The route is through a 
broken country, but the scenery, including the valley of the Androscoggin 
River with its surrounding mountains, Mount Washington, and quite a portion 
of the White Mountain Range, is extremely beautiful and makes the trip, in 
spite of minor disadvantages, one of the finest in New England. From this 
point the other lakes of the chain are easily reached. Steamers ply upon the 
lakes, and upon the largest rivers in the vicinity, and boats are readily ob- 
tained on the smaller streams. Where water communication is impossible, 
teams are supplied by a local transportation company. 



io6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

The tourist who enters the Rangeley Lakes region, should not fail to 
visit the Dixvalle Notch, which is in the western portion of the district therein 
included. This notch is in the State of New Hampshire, and sharply divides 
the mountain range to its very foundations. The ravine is a mile and a 
quarter in length, and much narrower than the celebrated Franconia Notch 
in the White Mountains. The cliffs rise almost perpendicularly and present 
a general aspect of grandeur combined with desolation and decay. From 
Table Rock, which rises some 800 feet above the road and which is only about 
eight feet wide at the top, a magnificent view may be obtained. Points in 
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Canada, are easily seen from this 
elevated station. The mica-slate of which the cliffs are composed, is being 
rapidly disintegrated by the action of the elements, and many of the pinnacles 
of rock by which they are adorned, are being destroyed. The road through 
the Notch was constructed with great dif^culty, and a large annual outlay is 
required to keep it in repair. Just outside the Notch, at the eastern end, 
there is an entire change of scene. Instead of the rugged, crumbling walls of 
the desolate chasm, we see the beautiful and luxuriant verdure of a meadow, 
through which flows a lovely stream. The mountains stand around, looking 
like solemn guards to keep the peaceful vale from harm. In the woods, at 
only a little distance from the road, there is also a series of cascades which 
are extremely beautiful. Many other objects of interest will be found b}' the 
tourist who will take the time and trouble to explore this attractive region. 
A hotel in the vicinity furnishes excellent accommodations to visitors, and 
those who have spent some time here seem agreed that while the locality is 
not as famous as some of the White Mountain resorts, its attractions are un- 
surpassed b)' those of its more widely-known rivals. 



ALONG THE HUDSON. 




HE Hudson, or North River, is one of the most majestic and impor- 
tant of North American streams. It rises in Essex County, New 
York, in the Adirondac Mountain region, about 3,000 feet above 
the level of the sea. After a devious course among the mountains it flows 
toward the east until it reaches Sandy Hill. Thence it continues nearly due 
south for 190 miles, when it emi)ties into New York Bay. It is formed, in the 
mountains, by the union of two small streams and in its course receives 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 107 

several small tributuries before it reaches Cohoes. Here the Mohawk, a 
larger stream than the Hudson itself, unites with it. At Kingston, 88 miles 
from New York, the Wallkill River is received and many small streams join 
it at different points. 

The Hudson River is 300 miles in length, and is a tidal stream for nearly 
half its course. At Albany, 145 miles from the mouth of the river, the tide 
rises one foot. The fall in the bed of th-e river in this long distance is only 
five feet. Large steamers pass as far as Hudson, 116 miles up the river, and 
boats of considerable size are able to reach Troy, six miles above Albany. 
Beyond this place, sloops and smaller craft pass to Cohoes, which is the 
highest point to which the river is navigable. 

Between Hudson and Albany there are various obstructions, principally 
caused by shifting sand, which interfere with rapid navigation. To remove 
these obstacles the State of New York has at various times made large appro- 
priations, and the United States government has expended more than $1,500,- 
000. The United States also has erected more than twenty light-houses 
along the banks of the river. 

Above the point to wdiich the river is navigable, the scenery along the 
shores is beautiful, and in many places romantic. There are also various 
rapids in the river and near Sandy Hill, about fifty miles north of Albany, 
are Glens Falls, which are well worth a visit. Here is a deep and wild ravine, 
900 feet in length, through which the river rushes over a rocky bed down a 
descent of fifty feet. Not only is it a picturesque locality, but it also has an 
interest to a multitude of readers from the fact that it was the scene of some 
of the important incidents in Cooper's famous novel, " The Last of the 
Mohicans." The place has been well fitted up as a summer resort and is quite 
popular with a large number of visitors. As the region of the Adirondacs is 
entered the scenery is pleasantly diversified and in many places is extremely 
picturesque and delightful. 

Many thousands of tourists who take a trip up the Hudson do not go be- 
yond the point which gives the most convenient access to the Catskill Moun- 
tains, which have become a sort of Mecca to pilgrims on the Hudson, whether 
from the South or the North. Still, large numbers wisely extend the trip from 
New York to Troy, Unfortunately, many of these tourists have but little 
time at their command and are consequently obliged to pass many interesting 
places and a great deal of beautiful scenery unnoticed. 

The trip along the Hudson can be made either by rail or by boat. If 



io8 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

made by daylight the latter will give the most extensive views. Several 
steamers leave New York daily, except Sunday, for various points up the 
river — some of them going as far as Troy. On the east bank, the New 
York Central and Hudson River Railroad runs from New York to Albany, 
while on the west bank the West Shore Railroad takes passengers to the 
same city. 

Passing up the river on one of the large steamers, said to be the finest 
and the fastest which ply upon American inland waters, the tourist will obtain 
excellent views of New York City and harbor, of Jersey City, and of various 
suburbs. Soon the Palisades will appear on the western shore. This re- 
markable line of precipices, rising from 300 to 500 feet in height, is composed 
of trap rock and extends for a distance of about twenty miles. Upon the 
summit is a fine growth of forest trees. Upon this lofty height may be seen 
Fort Lee, which stands upon the site of an old Revolutionary fortification. 
Fifteen miles from New York, on the east side of the river, is the Convent of St. 
Vincent. Two miles beyond, on the same side of the river, is the large and 
growing town of Yonkers. At the end of the Palisades is Piermont. It is 
on the western shore, and is a terminus of a branch of the Erie Railroad. Its 
principal feature is a pier a mile long, which runs from the shore to a point 
at which the water is deep enough for large steamers. About three miles 
distant is the historic town of Tappan, at which Washington at one time had 
his headquarters and which was the place of execution of the unfortunate 
Major Andre. 

Beyond Piermont the river becomes much wider and assumes the form of 
a lake, which is called Tappan Zee. Its extreme width is about four miles 
and its length is nearly ten miles. On the east bank of this broad expanse 
of water, and about twenty-three miles from New York, is the little town of 
Irvington. This place derives its fame from the fact that here Washington 
Irving spent the last }'ears of his life. His little cottage, " Sunnyside " still 
remains and is " one of the shrines of American pilgrimage." It stands upon 
the bank of the river, but the surrounding trees and shrubs hide it from the 
sight of parties on the boat. The east wall is covered with ivy which has 
grown from slips presented by Sir Walter Scott, and planted by Irving's own 
hands. A short distance above is Tarrytown, a favorite summer resort, and 
famous as the place at which Major .Vndre was captured. A valley, lying 
a little north of the town, through \\hich flows the stream known as Mill River, 
is the original of the Sleepy Hollow with which Irving made the English-speak- 



no THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

ing world acquainted. The stone bridge referred to in the story of Ichabod 
Crane still remains, as does the Dutch church, which was built in 1699, and 
which is the oldest building in the State used for religious purposes. In the 
cemetery belonging to this church and located in Sleepy Hollow is Irving's 
grave. In Christ Church, of which Irving was one of the wardens during his 
last years, is a handsome tablet, which has been placed there to commemorate 
his virtues, and perpetuate his fame. 

Opposite Tarrytown is the beautiful town of Nyack, which is principally 
built on the river bank, but has many fine residences on the wooded hills 
which He just back of the main part of the town, and rise above it to a con- 
siderable height. The large building on the bluff just south of the town is 
known in winter as the Rockland Female Institute, but in the summer it is 
used as a boarding-house, and is called the Tappan-Zee House. A little 
farther up the river is Rockland Lake, a pretty sheet of water lying among 
the hills, and of special interest to the inhabitants of New York City, from 
the fact that from this lake a large part of their ice supply is obtained. The 
lake itself is not seen from the boat, but a large pier from which the ice is 
loaded, and numerous storehouses, indicate its vicinity. 

Almost directly across the river from the lake is Sing Sing. The peculiar 
name comes from an Indian word signifying a "stony point." The town is 
most widely known as being the seat of one of the State Prisons. This cele- 
brated institution is located about three-fourths of a mile south of the village. 
The main building is nearly 500 feet long, is five stories high, and " accom- 
modates " 1,200 persons. Instead of the high walls by which prison grounds 
are usually inclosed the place is guarded by armed sentinels. But without 
regard to this somewhat exceptional feature of a popular resort the town is 
one of the most beautiful in the country, and is a desirable place for the 
tourist to visit. It is built on sloping ground, some of the streets being more 
than 200 feet higher than others which run parallel with them, and com- 
mands a magnificent \'i,ew of the Hudson at its widest, and also one of its 
most beautiful points. Tappan Zee lies spread out in all its beauty below, 
and another broad expanse of the river, known as Haverstraw Bay, is in full 
view just above. Across the river Mount Taurn rises to a height of 640 feet, 
Nyack, Stony Point, and several other villages and towns are easily seen, and 
numerous other features add to the general attractiveness of the landscape. 
The Croton aqueduct is also an interesting point. The stone arch which 
supports the aqueduct has a span of eighty-eight feet and is over eighty feet 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. iir 

above the water of the Sing Sing Kill. The town contains several important 
schools, fine church edifices, and many beautiful residences. 

Four miles above Sing Sing, Croton Point separates the Tappan Zee from 
the similar expansion of the river known as Haverstraw Bay. This penin- 
sula, now noted for its splendid vineyards, was formerly known as Teller's 
Point. It is the place where the Vulture was to remain for Major Andre 
while he negotiated for the betrayal of West Point by the traitor Arnold, 
but from which position, fortunately for the colonists and the cause of liberty, 
she was driven by a few zealous patriots with an old iron cannon which 
carried only a six-pound ball. Here the Croton River, from which the water 
supply of New York City is obtained, joins the Hudson. A dam across the 
stream, six miles from its mouth, converts it into an artificial lake. The 
dam is 250 feet long, seventy feet thick at the bottom, and forty feet high. 
From this lake an aqueduct more than forty miles in length conducts the 
water to the city. The capacity of the aqueduct is from two million to two 
and one-half million gallons of water per hour. The lake is easily reached 
by team from Sing Sing, or Croton, and attracts many visitors. 

On the western shore of Haverstraw Bay is the town of Haverstraw. 
Here, on "Treason Hill" stands the house in which Major Andre and Bene- 
dict Arnold arranged the terms for the betrayal of West Point. This house 
now does service as a summer boarding-house. On the shore of the river 
there are valuable banks of clay, and several miles of brick yards in which 
vast numbers of bricks of the finest quality are made every season. So valu- 
able are these beds of clay that the West Shore Railroad follows a circuitous 
course to avoid crossing them. In the neighborhood of Stony Point are 
some limestone cliffs from which imm.ense quantities of lime are obtained. 
This town also has historical associations, having been the scene of a hard- 
fought battle during the Revolutionary War. The fortifications then secured 
by the British were afterward retaken by the Americans without a blow. 
A lighthouse now stands on the ground formerly occupied by the magazine 
of the old fort. On the opposite bank, and a little above Stony Point, is 
Peekskill, a small but pretty town, located on the steep hill which rises from 
the river. It received its name from Jan Peek, a Dutch explorer, who settled 
here, in 1764. For a while during the Revolution, General Putnam had his 
headquarters here and Washington also remained here a short time. To the 
present generation it became somewhat noted as the summer home of the 
late Henry Ward Beecher. East of the town, and some 900 feet above the 




^ ^^ 



I ^ 





o 

^ 



M Q 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 113 

river, is Lake Mohensick. The distance is about six miles, through a 
picturesque region. The lake is a beautiful sheet of water, and the scenery 
in the vicinity is delightful. Nearly opposite Peekskill lies Dunderberg 
Mountain, the first peak of the celebrated Highlands reached in the journey 
from New York. 

From this point, for a distance of fifteen or twenty miles through the 
Highland region, the scenery is magnificent. Its beauty gives the Hudson a 



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r^ '- 



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NORTHERN ENTRANCE TO THE HTDSnN HlOHEANnS. 

valid claim to the title of "The Rhine of America," and fully justifies the 
claim that it is unsurpassed by any river-scenery in the world. 

In the midst of the Highland region is the famous Military Academy at 
West Point. This town is on the west side of the river, on a plateau some 
160 feet above the bank, with still more elevated points lying at but little 
distance to the west. On account of the school, the historic association of 
the locality, and the magnificent views which it presents. West Point is one 
of the most noted resorts in the State. Some of the buildings are very fine 
specimens of architecture, and have many interesting features and associa- 
tions. The Museum contains a large collection of relics, models, trophies of 
the various wars in which the country has engaged, and numerous other 



114 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

articles of interest. From the ruins of Fort Putnam, of Revolutionary fame, 
a splendid view 'may be obtained. There are many beautiful walks and 
drives in the vicinity and large and fine hotels furnish ample accommoda- 
tions for visitors. In the river, a little distance above the town, is Constitu- 
tion Island, on which Elizabeth Wetherell (Miss Susan Warner), author of 
" The Wide, Wide World," " Oueechy," and other famous novels, had her 
home for many years with her younger sister, Anna, who wrote many popu- 
lar stories under the name of Amy Lathrope. 

Cornwall, a small but beautiful town on the west bank of the river, is 
probably the most popular of all the summer resorts on the Hudson. Here 
are many beautiful and fruitful vineyards and delightful scenes open to the 
eye in every direction. From this point Storm King, the last and one of the 
highest peaks of the Highlands, can be reached. From the summit, 1,529 
feet above the sea, a wide and magnificent view is obtained. In the village 
are several large and well-kept hotels. The place is of interest to people 
with literary tastes from the fact that Idlewild, the home of the late N. P. 
Willis, is on one of its beautiful elevations. Here, too, the late Rev. E. P. 
Roe wrote nearly all of his wonderfully successful novels, and also gave an 
impetus to the business of small fruit culture which has been of immense 
benefit to all the region around as well as an indirect advantage to the country 
at large. Four miles above Cornwall, and nearly sixty miles from New 
York, is the historic city of Newburg. It is located on a slope rising some 
300 feet above the river, has about 18,000 inhabitants, is beautiful in itself 
and commands fine views of other localities. The old stone house in which 
Washington for a time had his headquarters in the War for Independence 
still remains, and is now owned by the State. This house was built in 1750 
and contains a large number of interesting relics. It is freely opened to the 
public. P'rom this place the proclamation disbanding the army was issued, 
and at a little distance is a monument erected jointly by the United States 
and the State of New York to commemorate the successful termination of 
the Revolution. Immediately across the river is F"ishkill. Immense ferry 
boats, each large enough to take a full train of cars at a trip, ply between 
the two places. Here the West Shore road connects with the New York and 
New England Railroad, which has its western terminus at F"ishkill. This gives 
a through line to Boston by way of Hartford, and passes through several im 
portant manufacturing centres. 

Abovis Newburg the scenery is charming, but presents no very imposing 







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NEWBURGH, N. Y., SCENES. 



ii6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

features. The region is celebrated for the immense quantity and excellen-t 
quality, as well as for the great variety of fruit which it produces every year. 
At Poughkeepsie, seventy-five miles from New York, there are large manu- 
facturing and commercial interests. The plain on which the city is built rises 
some 200 feet above the river, with a range of high hills in the rear. This 
elevated and protected location renders the name, derived from an Indian 
word meaning " a safe and pleasant place," singularly appropriate. In early 
times considerable latitude was allowed in the manner of spelling the name. 
It is asserted that in existing records it is spelled in forty-two different ways. 
The city is noted for its educational interests. Vassar College, the largest 
among the female colleges of the country, is on a beautiful and elevated site 
about two miles east of the city and attracts large numbers of visitors as well 
as students. There are half a dozen other important institutions of learning 
and many fine public and private buildings. A little north of the city are 
the large buildings of the State Lunatic Asylum. The great railroad bridge 
across the Hudson, which connects New England with the coal regions of 
Pennsylvania, is well worthy a visit. Including the approaches, it is about 
one and one-third miles in length. In its construction about 15,000 tons of 
steel and more tlian 6,000 tons of iron were used. It is built in the cantilever 
style and its construction is one of the great engineering feats of the age. 
The end spans and the centre span give a clear space to the water of i6o-^feet, 
while the others rise 130 feet above the surface. From the water to the top of 
the rail is 212 feet. This bridge is one of the finest and strongest ever built. 
Across the river from Poughkeepsie is New Paltz Landing. It is reached 
by a ferry, and from it a line of stages runs to the beautiful Lake Mohonk, 
in the Wallkill Valley region. Passengers on the West Shore Railroad, 01 
on the Erie, going up the west bank of the river, reach New Paltz by rail and 
from thence go to the lake by stage or private conveyance. Kingston, 88 
miles from New York, is an interesting place, and is also a favorite point of 
departure for the Catskill Mountain region. Directly opposite is Rhinebeck 
Landing. Here may be seen the Beekman House, erected nearly 200 years 
ago and said to be the most perfect specimen of the old-fashioned Dutch 
homestead now remaining in the Hudson River Valley. Catskill, 1 10 miles 
above New York, on the west side of the river, is a famous summer resort as 
well as a point from which passengers leave for the Catskill Mountains. 
Hudson, a few miles further up the river, and on the east bank, is built upon 
a rocky cliff and extends up the slope of the hill to a point 500 feet above the 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. ny 
river. From the high ground splendid views of the Catskill and other moun- 
tarns may be obtained. Five miles away, in the Claveraek Valley is the 
quiet and pleasant resort known as Columbia Springs. There is a beautiful 
lake near by offering excellent opportunities for boating and fishing. Not 
far distant are the Claveraek Falls, where the water passes over a preeipice 
:nmety feet high, and the scenery presents many picturesque features 




VIEW UF THE TURK'S FACE OX THE HUDSON. 

At Albany the visitor finds one of the oldest settlements by Europeans in 
the United States. It has been an incorporated city more than 200 years 
and the permanent capital of the State for more than ninety years It is lo- 
cated on the west bank of the Hudson and extends for more than three miles 
and a half along the river. The ground is very low along the shore, but 
gradually rises until it reaches a tableland 150 feet high a few miles west thus 
givmg, when viewed from the east, a splendid presentation of its public and 



ii8 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

private buildings. Of the many objects of interest the new Capitol building' 
easily holds the first rank. This enormous structure will cost, when com- 
pleted, about $20,000,000. More than §2,000,000 were required to complete 
the foundations and the walls of the basement. The building is 390 feet 
long, 293 feet wide, and four stories high. The corner stone was laid in 
1871. With the exception of the National Capitol at Washington, this is 
considered the finest public building in the country. 

It is an interesting fact that on the banks of the Hudson that curious relic 
of the Middle Ages known as the Feudal System was established soon after 
the settlement of this nominally free country and continued in existence for 
a long period. Large tracts of land were granted to various parties, who 
were known as patroons. In the vicinity of Albany a grant of a tract of land, 
twenty-four miles square on both sides of the Hudson was made to the Van 
Rensselaer family in 1629. The lands thus obtained were leased by the patroons 
to settlers, who paid them a certain fixed rental each year, either in cash or 
in the products of the soil. The system, though nominally done away in 
1787, was not entirely abandoned until after the political party known as the 
Anti-renters, in 1846, secured the insertion of a clause in the State Constitu- 
tion abolishing feudal rights and tenures and prohibiting the leasing of land 
for farming purposes for a longer term than twelve years. The old manor- 
house of the Van Rensselaer family is still standing and there are various 
other buildings in the older part of the city which have an interest to the 
tourist as well as to the antiquarian and the historian. 

At Troy, the final landing place of the boat and the last point to visit on 
the trip, the tourist will find various educational institutions, many beautiful 
buildings, and several large manufactories. But the chief point of interest 
will be Oakwood Cemetery, and a visit thereto will be well repaid. This 
Cemetery is located on .high land, from which may be obtained a splendid 
view of the Mohawk Valley and of the falls at Cohoes. Within the inclosure 
are the graves of two Major-Generals of the United States army — George H. 
Thomas and John- E. Wool. The obelisk erected as a monument to General 
Wool is seventy-five feet high and is said to be the largest stone taken out 
of a quarry during the last 3,000 years. 




THE ADIRONDACS. 

HE Adirondac region lies in the northeastern corner of the State 
of New York. Thirty years ago it was ahnost entirely unknown. 
At the present time, although mainly a wilderness, it is a very 
popular summer resort. It is a vast plateau extending from the St. Lawrence 
River on the northwest nearly to the Mohawk River on the south, and to 
Lake George and Lake Champlain on the east, and lying about 2,000 feet 
above the level of the sea. It is crossed from southwest to northeast by five 
ranges of mountains. Several of the peaks are about 5,000 feet in height and 
Mount Marcy reaches an altitude of 5,370 feet. Though there are peaks in 
New Hampshire and in North Carolina which rise to a greater height, the 
general elevation of the Adirondacs is greater than that of any chain east of 
the Rocky Mountains. 

These mountains form the watershed between the St. Lawrence River and 
the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers, Among them, at an elevation of about 
3,000 feet, the Hudson has its rise. At only a short distance from this point, 
which is in the Indian Pass, one of the wildest portions of the region and to a 
great extent still unexplored, are the springs of the Ausable River, which 
flows into Lake Champlain. Though starting close together, the waters of 
these rivers are hundreds of miles apart when they reach the Atlantic Ocean. 
The most beautiful river in the region is the Raquette, rising in Raquette 
Lake and flowing a distance of 120 miles until it reaches the St. Lawrence. 

In this region there are said to be more than 500 mountains. Only a 
small portion of them have yet been named. Except at the summits of those 
which rise above the timber line, these mountains are covered with heavy 
forests. On the lower lands there is also a dense growth of trees, largely 
evergreens, which at many points are almost impenetrable. In the woods, 
and especially upon the mountains, various kinds of game abound. There 
are some ferocious animals as well as deer and several fur-bearing animals. 

The number of lakes and ponds in the Adirondacs which have received 
names and been definitely located exceeds 1,000. They vary in extent from 
an area of a few acres to a length of twenty miles. The general elevation of 
these lakes is some 1,500 feet above the sea level, but many of them are much 
higher, and at least one. Lake Perkins, lies at an altitude of over 4,000 feet. 



I20 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

The shores of these lakes arc covered with rank grass and aquatic plants and 
their waters are liberally stocked with fish of good size and fine varieties. 
The largest lakes are the Saranac, Raquette Schroon Lake, Blue Mountain 
Lake, Long Lake, Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, and the chain of Eulton Lakes. 

Travelling throughout the region is largely done by means of small boats. 
The lakes are connected by rivers and small streams. A guide is needed for 
the double purpose of leading the way and carrying the boat where sailing is 
impracticable. Camps A\'ill be found at various points and in the most fre- 
quented sections hotels have been erected. Within a few years railroads 
have been constructed and stage lines established, and it is now compara- 
tively easy to reach the most popular portions of the region. The Adirondac 
Railroad from Saratoga to North Creek leads directly into the district. The 
Chateaugay Railroad from Plattsburg, lying on Lake Champlain, reached 
from New York by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Compan}' Railroad, runs 
to Saranac Lake. From Boston the tourist reaches Burlington by the Ver- 
mont Central Railroad and crosses the lake b)- a steamer to Plattsburg. 

The general aspect of the Adirondac region is said to closel}' resemble 
that of the Highlands of Scotland and the more elevated regions of Switzer- 
land before they were settled. There are areas of considerable extent which 
no \\ hite man has ever traversed and in which " untamed nature in all its 
purity" holds undisputed sway. Throughout the whole region the scenery is 
wild and romantic and we can easily believe the assertion of experienced 
travellers that it has " no parallel in the world." 




THE REGION OF THE CATSKILLS. 

HOUGH somewhat separated from the main line, the Catskills be- 
long to the great Appalachian range of mountains, which extend, 
M in a southwesterl}- direction some 1,300 miles from the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence to the State of Alabama, and which throughout their entire course 
are but a comparatively short distance from the Atlantic coast. The Cats- 
kills lie principally in Greene County, N. Y., rising from a plain about ten 
miles wide on the west bunk of the Hudson River. 

One of the principal i)()ints, and for many }'ears the only place of departure 
for the interior of the mountain region, is Catskill, 1 10 miles from New York 
City, and itself a famous summer resort. Situated on the west bank of 




A VIEW IN THE CATSKILLS. 



122 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

the river, at the mouth of Catskill Creek, it long ago became known as the 
" Gem of the Hudson," and although many new rivals have been brought 
to public notice it still maintains its popularity. The beautiful and varied 
scenery, the plains and cliffs, the forests interspersed with cultivated fields, 
the mountain-brooks and the quiet glens, combine to make it a place for 
rest and peace. In this town Thomas Cole, the famous painter, lived for 
many years, and here, in 1848, he died. It was while residing here that the 
two series of his celebrated allegorical pictures entitled " The Voyage of 
Life," and "The Course of Empire," were painted. While Catskill is a 
most attractive place, and in some portions very quiet, the town is also 
quite a business centre, a fact which makes it a favorite resort of city people 
who desire to find rest and refreshment, but who also wish to remain in 
close connection with the active affairs of the world. It is a point from 
which either the mountains or the city can be very easily and quickly reached. 
The opening of new railroads has made it easy to reach the resorts in the 
Catskills from Kingston, also on the west bank of the Hudson River. This 
city, eighty-eight miles from New York, is readily reached from that point 
by the W'est Shore Railroad on the west side of the river; by the New York 
Central and Hudson River Railroad on the east side, connecting at Rhinebeck 
with Rondout, a suburb of Kingston, by a steam ferry; or by steamer up 
the Hudson. Kingston was settled by the English in 1614. Here the State 
Constitution was adopted and the first Legislature of the State of New York 
was convened. The old house in which the Constitution was written is still 
standing. In 1872 the villages of Rondout and Wilbur were incorporated 
with Kingston as a city. Here the Delaware and Hudson Canal has its 
eastern terminus. Through this canal 1,500,000 tons of coal are brought 
every year. From this port enormous quantities of blue flagging stones for 
paving the sidewalks of New York City arc annually shipped and here is 
located the largest cement manufactory in the United States, Rondout 
Creek, about a mile south of Kingston, is crossed by trains on the West Shore 
Railroad by means of a bridge a fourth of a mile long a^id 195 feet above the 
water. Just beyond the bridge the train passes through a tunnel 400 feet in 
length. From this point it is only a short distance to the fine Union Depot, 
built in the Queen Anne style, which is used by the West Shore, the Wallkill 
Valley, and the Ulster and Delaware railroads. It is at Kingston that the 
traveller passing up the Hudson b}- the West Shore Railroad gains his first 
clear view of the Catskills. Leaving this ancient town by the Ulster and 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 123 

Delaware Railroad he can pass to the very centre of the mountain region, 
where the breezes are fresh and cool, and the most beautiful scenery greets 
the eye in whatever direction it may be turned. 

From time immemorial the Catskills have been famed for their beauty and 
grandeur. Before the advent of the white man the Indian rejoiced to gaze 
upon their massive forms and feast his eye upon their wondrous beauty. He 
imagined that in this glorious region was the home of the Great Spirit who 
ruled the Universe, and he looked with awe upon the peaks which to his un- 
taught mind were the visible dwelling place of a Being who was clothed with 
the glory and mystery of a mighty power of which he saw many evidences, 
but which he could in no-wise comprehend. To him they were the " blissful 
regions," the land of rest and peace. The early Dutch settlers also had a 
certain degree of superstitious reverence for this locality. They imagined 
that from the beautiful heights the soul of Henry Hudson watched with joy 
and pride the ceaseless flow of the magnificent river which he discovered and 
which bears his honored name. And when Washington Irving, the first and 
foremost of the great American writers of fiction, wove the various legends 
of the section into his charming tales, he attracted the attention of the Eng- 
lish-speaking world to the manifold beauties of the region and gave to the 
Catskills, as well as received for himself, a deserved and an enduring fame. 

The proximity of the region to New York, and the ease with which it can 
be reached from the principal points in the Eastern and Central States, unite 
with its wonderful natural attractions to make it a favorite summer resort for 
multitudes of the residents of these sections. Yet, while close to the great 
centres of civilization and easily reached by parties who need rest as well as 
recreation, the Catskill region to a great extent maintains its primitive simplic- 
ity. Large hotels are numerous, boarding houses abound, many beautiful 
private residences have been erected, and there are various centres of business 
life and activity. But close to these are quiet walks and silvery streams, 
the beautiful trees and the towering mountain peaks, and the peace and quiet 
of nature unchanged by man. The mountain roads pass through a wonder- 
ful variety of scenery and at many points seem to bring the traveller to a 
" fairy land." Those who long for the life and gayety of fashion will find all 
they desire at the large hotels, while those in search of rest can readily find 
quiet and peaceful homes. There is room enough for all and nature spreads 
her beauties and her glories with a lavish hand for all who come. 

Though none of the mountains rise to a great height, the views from many 



124 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 



of the peaks are really magnificent. Not only is the adjacent region spread 
out to view, but far outlying localities can be plainly seen. From some points 
the Hudson River and the fruitful valley through which it flows can be seen 
for nearly a hundred miles. They form a picture of beauty which once be- 
held will never be forgotten. The highest 
point is believed to be the Slide Mountain, 
which reaches an altitude of 4,220 feet above 
the tide level. It is near the centre of the 
Catskill region and is one of a group of nota- 
ble peaks. Several of the hotels of this region 
are located from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the 
sea. From many lower points, as Vv^ell as from 
the higher elevations, splendid views may 
also be obtained. Indeed, so numerous and 
varied are the attractions of the landscape 
that, go where he will in all this section, the 
tourist will find a scene of beauty constantly 
open before him. The several railroads and 
stage lines make it comparatively 
easy to reach any part of the re- 
i^ gion, and a long distance can be 
'^ passed and many views obtained 
in a limited time, though it is far 
^^ more satisfactory to move slowly 
and allow the pictures to become 
W^ indelibly impressed upon the 
^ T mind. Some of the railroads are 
^^ "r narrow gauge, and have very 
J steep grades to overcome. In 
one case, there is a grade of 180 
feet to the mile, while a rise of 
140 feet in that distance is not 
uncommon. Even with these steep inclines it is often necessary to choose a 
winding pathway, and make the running distance between stations several 
miles farther than it would be if a straight line could be followed. 

Among the many points of interest in the Catskill region Sunset Rock is 
deserving of special mention. It is located in the Eastern Catskills, only a 




KAATKKSKII I, FAILS. 



f / 






^^1^ 


^m- Sr^ 


^^9 






VIEW OX LAKE :m:is;newaska. 



126 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

short distance from the famous Hotel Kaaterskill, and overhangs the Kaater- 
skill Clove. It is a table rock with an almost perpendicular descent of 1,500 
feet, while lying opposite is the Kaaterskill High Peak, which rises in full 
view for its entire height of 4,000 feet. Looking down the Clove, the valley of 
the Hudson is seen spread out in wondrous beauty. At the head of the Clove 
Haines's Falls glimmer in the sun, while looking far inland the giant form of 
Hunter Mountain comes into view. The Clove itself is also one of the grandest 
features of the region. It is a ravine some five miles in length, at the head of 
which two rivulets unite. The stream thus formed flows rapidly to a point 
where a division in the mountain leaves an immense hollow forming a cata- 
ract of 180 feet, while just below are two falls of eighty feet and forty feet 
respectively. This cascade of 300 feet makes a wonderful scene of beauty in 
summer, and is said to be still more attractive in the winter when the sun- 
light is reflected by the ice, which in a multitude of fantastic forms beautifully 
decorates the falls. 

Overlook Mountain, which has been styled " the corner stone " of the 
Catskills, is also an important point of observation. From the hotel located 
here a fine view can be obtained, while from Grand View Rock, only a mile 
away, the outlook is beautiful beyond description, and is said by experienced 
travellers to be one of the finest in the world. The Hudson River can be seen 
for nearly lOO miles, five ranges of mountains besides the Catskills are in full 
vjew, as are also portions of seven different States. The range of vision is 
said to cover the vast area of 30,000 square miles. From the little observa- 
tory which has been erected at the top of Slide Mountain, in the Western 
Catskills, the view is also extensive and magnificent. The Berkshire Hills in 
Massachusetts, the Hudson River, and many mountains in New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania are clearly seen in the distance, while the Catskill region lies 
spread out in beauty and grandeur close at hand. Less imposing, but per- 
haps not less beautiful, views are to be obtained in many of the valleys of 
this " enchanted land." Beautiful drives and pleasant walks abound. The 
merry flow of the mountain streams, the beauty of tree and flower, and the 
silent grandeur of the adjacent peaks rearing their heads to the sky, combine 
to form a scene of loveliness of which the beholder never tires. If more 
sombre scenes are desired, the deep gorges of the region, in which snow and 
ice remain during the entire year, their sides covered with rich, dark ever- 
greens which shut out the sun yet which point toward the light will give the 
thoughts a tinge of sadness and solemnity which brighter views do not impart. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 127 

In this wild region Nature can be seen in all her varied moods and the visitor 
can choose the aspect in which to him she shall appear. 

The sportsman, as well as the admirer of natural beauty, may here find 
abundant diversion ; excellent hunting and fishing being found throughout the 
section. The routes from New York to the Catskills have already been men- 
tioned. From Boston this delightful region is easily reached by the Boston 
and Alban}' Railroad, or the Hoosac Tunnel Route, with their connecting 
north and south lines, while our Canadian friends who wish to visit it will find 
excellent accommodations on the Grand Trunk road with its connecting lines. 
Several recently constructed railroads have made all portions of the Catskill 
section easily accessible, and it is now possible to start from the Hudson, pass 
through the entire length of the region, and return in a single day. A less 
hurried trip will be found far more satisfactory, but even this brief visit will 
be remembered with joy as long as life remains. 

Lying a little to the south of the mountains, but properly noted in con- 
nection with the Catskill region, is the Wallkill Valley, which presents numer- 
ous beautiful scenes and through which a path can be found to many charming 
resorts. It is easily reached from Kingston by the Wallkill Valley Railroad. 
The fertility of its soil as well as the attractions of its scenery made it a favor- 
ite locality with the early settlers of the country. It was discovered and set- 
tled by Huguenot refugees who fled from France to avoid religious persecu- 
tion. They cleared a portion of the land, planted vines upon the hillsides, 
and made the former wilderness to " blossom as the rose." The town of 
New Paltz, on the east side of Wallkill Creek, and on the Wallkill Valley Rail- 
road, was settled in 1683. It still bears, after the lapse of two centuries with 
the tremendous progress which has been made and the vast changes which 
have taken place in all the civilized world, the impress of the quaint and in- 
dustrious toilers who here found civil liberty and freedom to worship God. 
Some of the houses which they erected are standing to-day, and afford a curi- 
ous contrast to the structures of modern times. 

From New Paltz the Shawangunk Mountains are in view and a stage 
route leads to their various places of interest. Sky Top, one of the highest 
peaks of the range, is an interesting'as well as prominent feature of the land- 
scape. Near its summit is Lake Mohonk, a beautiful sheet of water, lying 
nearly 1,250 feet above the level of the sea. A carriage road has been con- 
structed by which the lake can be readily reached. The view from all the 
upper portion of the route is rich and varied, while the lake itself, inclosed 



128 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

with rugged cliffs and massive rocks, is wonderful in its placid loveliness. 
Upon this mountain peak a fine hotel has been erected and many winding 
paths lead to the points from which the finest views may be obtained. The 
lake, though comparatively narrow, is about half a mile in length, and the 
water, which is 80 feet deep, is always clear and cold. About six miles far- 
ther on, and also located on a mountain peak, is Lake Minnewaska. This 
beautiful sheet of water is about 1,650 feet above the level of the sea and, like 
Lake Mohonk, is hemmed in by rocky walls. On Minnewaska Heights, a 
cliff overlooking the lake, two hotels have been erected, and from their win- 
dows very fine and extensive views may be obtained. The Green Mountains 
of Vermont, the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, the Housatonic Moun- 
tains of Connecticut, the Catskills and several other groups of mountains in 
New York, are all in sight, while many valleys, and lakes, and rivers, with 
villages and towns, add their attractions to the general beauty. Only a short 
distance from these houses may be seen the Awosting Falls, where a small 
stream of water has a clear fall of 60 feet, while about half a mile farther on 
its course, by a series of beautiful and rapid descents, it drops to a level one 
hundred feet lower still. In the vicinity are many other places of interest, 
including several caves and bluffs, a magnificent forest of hemlocks, and the 
placid Lake Awosting; all of which are within easy reach and by the beauti- 
ful views which they present will amply repay a visit from tourists who find 
their way to this delightful region. 



SARATOGA SPRINGS. 




HE town of Saratoga Springs has long been famous as a summer 
resort and for at least a quarter of a century has held the position 
of " Queen " of the inland watering places in America. It owes its 
fame to the wonderful mineral springs which it contains and to the large and 
elegant hotels which have here been erected, and which are said to be more 
luxurious and magnificent in their appointments than those of any other 
watering place in the world. Of these hotels the United States accommo- 
dates about 2,000 people, the Grand Union 1,800, and Congress Hall 1,000, 
while several others care for from 250 to 750 each. At several of the hotels 
fine orchestras are kept throughout the season. In all there are more than 
50 hotels and there are also a large number of boarding-houses. The town is 




THE AWDS'l'ING FALLS. 



130 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

located in Saratoga County, New York, i86 miles from New York City, 36 
miles north of Albany, and 238 miles west and north of Boston. The name 
is from an Indian word meaning "the place of the herrings," and was doubt- 
less suggested by the sight of large numbers of this variety of fish which for- 
merly passed up the Hudson River to Saratoga Lake. The region around 
the Springs is also an historic locality. In 1693 it was the scene of conflict 
between the English and the French, and in this vicinity the great battle of 
Saratoga was fought in 1777. The latter was not only one of the most im- 
portant battles in the struggle of the colonists for independence, but, on ac- 
count of its far-reaching results, is included among the fifteen decisive battles 
of the world. 

The mineral springs, and their value in the treatment of disease, were 
known to the Indians at a very early period. When Cartier, the French ex- 
plorer, was in the region of the St. Lawrence in 1534 he was told of the 
springs by members of the Iroquois tribe with whom he came in contact. 
But he did not visit them, and it is supposed that the first white man who 
ever saw the springs or tested the waters was Sir William Johnson. He was 
the first white resident in the region. He settled among the Mohawk In- 
dians, and by his kind treatment and fair dealings soon acquired their respect 
and confidence. One of the various offices which he held under the govern- 
ment of Great Britain was that of superintendent of matters pertaining to 
the Indians in this vicinity. In 1767, during a period of illness, some of his 
Indian friends carried him to the High Rock Spring, and by the use of its 
water he was soon restored to health. The first framed house was built at 
the Springs in 1784 by General Schuyler and the first hotel in or about 181 5. 
The popularity of the waters rapidly increased and in 1826 their exportation 
in bottles was commenced. This business has assumed vast proportions and 
the waters of some of the springs are now sent to all parts of the civilized 
world. Several new springs have been discovered and a few have been 
opened by drills. There are now twenty-eight springs, from six of which the 
water spouts into the air. Among the most popular of the springs are the 
Congress, discovered in 1792; the Hathorn, discovered in 1868; the Empire, 
High Rock, and Columbian. Among the spouting springs are the Geyser, 
opened in 1870 by an artesian well 140 feet deep, and the Glacier, opened in 
1 87 1 by boring a well to the depth of 300 feet. 

The different springs vary greatly in the chemical constituents of their 
waters, and the effects which they produce upon the human s^^stem. Some 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 131 

contain iodine, sulphur, and magnesia. Some also contain lime and others are 
strongly impregnated with iron. All are charged with carbonic-acid gas. 
The waters of some of the springs are cathartic in their action and are valu- 
able for liver and kidney troubles, dyspepsia, and gout. Those of other 
springs act as a tonic, while those of the remaining classes seem to be useful 
in various other ways. The waters of some of these springs are used for 
bathing, and are very efficacious in certain forms of illness. For the diseases 
to the treatment of which they are specially adapted these waters are among 
the most efificient curative agents yet discovered. 

Saratoga Springs is not less famed as a fashionable summer resort than 
it is for the medicinal quality of its waters. While many invalids frequent 
the place in search of health, the great majority of the visitors go merely for 
pleasure, which, if their purses are well filled, they can pursue here with less 
difificulty and greater success than they can elsewhere. Multitudes of the 
wealthiest and most fashionable people of the country spend a few weeks of 
the summer season at this beautiful retreat. The air is clear, splendid trees 
abound, the streets and avenues are well laid out, and the excellent roads 
leading in all directions into the country furnish beautiful and . attractive 
drives. A camp of Indians is located near by and adds variety if not beauty 
to the scene. 

Saratoga Lake, lying four miles from the Springs, is a beautiful sheet of 
water and offers one of the finest courses for boating found anywhere. The 
fishing is also excellent. There are ample hotel accommodations, and the 
lake is a favorite place of resort both for day and evening parties. Only a 
short distance from the village there is one of the finest race-courses in the 
country. It is controlled by a local association, but is famous throughout the 
land for the brilliant races which have here been held. Many of the most 
noted horses in the United States have been speeded upon this track, and 
regular and largely attended meetings for racing are held during the months 
of July and August of each year. 

Saratoga Springs is also an excellent place from which to make excursions 
to various points, including the Saratoga Battle Ground, Lake Luzerne, in 
the Adirondacs, Lake George, Lake Champlain, and Mt. McGregor. The 
latter point is reached by the Saratoga, Mt. McGregor, and Lake George Rail- 
road. It is about 1,200 feet above the sea. The distance is 11 miles and the 
trip is made- in 40 minutes. From many points along the route very fine 
vie:ws of both the Catskill and the Adirondac mountains are obtained. At 



132 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

the summit is a large hotel and a park of i,ooo acres, with fine walks and 
drives. Within a short distance there is excellent fishing and good boating. 
The scenery, including both the near and the more distant views, is diversi- 
fied and beautiful. The air is remarkably clear and pure. To large numbers 
of people, especially to soldiers, the principal object of interest will be the 
cottage in which General Grant died, and which has since become the prop- 
erty of the State of New York. 

As already intimated Saratoga Springs is pre-eminently a pleasure resort. 
Quiet houses can be found in which one can rest, but the large hotels are the 
recognized centres of fashionable amusem.ents. There " the days are given 
un to ease, and the nights to mirth and pleasure," and the season is a constant 
round of the gayest enjoyments. There are several newspapers and each of 
the leading religious denominations has one or more churches. The perma- 
nent population is from 8,000 to 10,000 and the additional summer population 
ranges from 15,000 to 20,000. During the season, special and luxurious rail- 
road trains are run from several large cities, as Boston, Washington, Phila- 
delphia,- and New York, to accommodate the large number of visitors who 
want to make the trip to the Sprin-gs as quickly and as comfortably as pos- 
sible. 




LAKE GEORGE. 

ROM the day that Fenimore Cooper began describing the glories 
and emphasizing the historical associations of its vicinage, this 
beautiful sheet of water has possessed a remarkable interest for 
all Americans. No other similar resort has so much of history, of romance, 
of natural beauty, of the very essence of quietude and repose, and no other 
is so popular to-day. It is the most democratic resort in the country, and 
its frequenters are thoroughly cosmopolitan. Unlike almost all other sum- 
mer recreation grounds, it offers equal opportunities to the rich and poor to 
enjoy its myriad advantages. It is not an exclusive resort for the wealthy, 
for beyond the extravagances of the ultra-fashionable class, one may obtain 
as much health-giving recreation and enjoyment out of the little as out of 
the much. On the one hand wealth can find just as many avenues for ex- 
penditure as at the most exclusive cara\anscr\-, and on the other the means 
that have to be estimatetl and counted frequently can secure an equal amount 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 133 

of invigorating profit. The pure mountain air is free to all, the rare beau- 
ties of the lake and its surrounding scenery are open to all for the mere look- 
ing; and the scrambler in the woods along the shore stands a fair chance of 
receiving more real benefit from the natural advantages of the place than he 
who pays a summer's income for a suite of rooms in the finest hotel. Camp- 
ing out is the favorite method of seeking enjoyment at a comparatively small 
expense, and in many respects it is the best. With few exceptions the 
numerous islands in the lake belong to the State, and camping parties are 
privileged to locate on any of them. A trip up the lake at any time during 
"the season" will reveal hundreds of tents half hidden by the trees that line 
the shores, in which whole families pass the entire period of their annual 
outing. 

The lake lies partly in Warren and partly in Washington counties, N. Y., 
extends north-northeast and south-southwest, is thirty-six miles long, and 




CAMPING ON THE LAKE. 



from one to four miles wide. It is encircled by the foothills of the Adiron- 
dac Mountains, is 310 feet above tide, and has a northern outlet into Lake 
Champlain. The water is remarkably clear and of variable depth, the ex- 
treme being about 400 feet. At the present time it contains about 300 
islands, though once it was locally claimed that a person could spend every 
day in the year upon a separate island. In the days of the Indian occupa- 
tion it was known as Lake Horicon, " silvery waters," which, like all Indian 
nomenclature, was at once indicative of truthfulness and suggestive of pictur- 
esque description. Early in the seventeenth century it was discovered by the 
French, who piously named it Le Lac du St. Sacrament, " Lake of the Holy 
Sacrament," and were in the habit of carrying its water long distances for 
baptismal purposes. Later on, and after the English had captured all that 
section, Sir William Johnson, prompted by his loyalty, named it Lake George, 



134 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

after King George IL, then on the throne. Though this name has since clung 
to it, and is in no wise appropriate, any one who has enjoyed its attractions 
cannot but regret that the descriptive Indian designation has been allowed 
to become obsolete. History, as well as tradition, lingers around it, invest- 
ing many spots with more than ordinary interest. It was the scene of im- 
portant military operations during the French and Indian war of 1755-59, 
Fort George, Fort William, and other defensive works were erected there, 
and their remains are still visible. Col. Williams, the founder of Williams 
College, Mass., was killed, and Baron Dieskau, the French commander, 
severely wounded and his force totally routed by the English near the south- 
ern end of the lake on September 5th, 1755 ; the French General Montcalm be- 
sieged Fort William near by with 10,000 men, and forced the English garrison 
to surrender, after v/hich they were massacred by the Indian allies, in 1757; 
General Abercrombie, with 15,000, attacked Ticonderoga unsuccessfully, after 
passing up the lake in boats, in July, 1758; and General Amherst, with about 
the same force, repeated the journey and captured both Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, in. July, 1759. There, too, General Burgoyne, before starting 
on his memorable march to Saratoga, established the depot of his military 
stores at the head of the lake. 

Starting from Caldwell, the post of^ce village of the locality, the first ob- 
ject that strikes the attention of the tourist is Williams' Rock, where Col. 
Williams was killed. Close by is Bloody Pond, into which the bodies of those 
slain in the battle were flung. A hotel now stands on the site of Fort Wil- 
liam, from which a glorious view of the lake may be obtained. The ruins of 
Fort George are seen less than a mile away, while French and Prospect 
Mountains and Rattlesnake Hill loom up, tempting an ascent that may be 
comfortably made. Passing from Caldwell, at the south end, to Baldwin, at 
the north, in one of the steamboats that ply regularly. Tea, Diamond, the 
Two Sisters, Long, Dome, Recluse, and Sloop Islands successively come into 
sight, beside Ferris's, the North-west, and Ganouskie Bays, Shelving Rock, 
and Tongue, Black, Buck, and Sugar-Loaf Mountains. Near the narrows on 
the north is Sabbath-Day Point, the scene of several bloody encounters with 
Indians, previous to and in the early part of the Revolutionary war. Nearly 
all these places received their names from circumstances indicated thereby, 
the recital of which adds not a little to the charm of the tour. Near Sabbath- 
Day Point the boat enters the broad bay, and soon afterward is steaming 
between two precipices nearly 400 feet high — Anthony's Nose on the right, 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 135 

and Rogers's Slide on the left. Beyond the sHde the lake is narrow, and 
relatively devoid of interest till the boat approaches the landing at Baldwin, 
where two other attractions are found. Prisoners' Island, where the English 
confined their French prisoners, and Lord Howe's Point, where that officer 
landed his army previous to the attack on Ticonderoga, five miles distant on 
Lake Champlain. 

It will thus be seen that there is a vast amount of material for historical 
study and contemplation; and it may be accepted as trustworthy that the 



VIEW ON LAKE GEORGE. 



narratives and traditions of local occurrences will furnish sufficient of the 
elements of romance and daring to cheer many a long winter evening. 
Beyond sailing, canoeing, mountain climbing, and the thousand and one 
time-killing employments of camping life, good fishing can be found at almost 
any point. The summer population of Lake George is now very large, and 
constantly increasing. Eighteen commodious hotels were scattered along its 
shore in 1888, none of which were able to shelter all the season guests, to say 
nothing of the transient ones. 




CHAUTAUQUA. 

LTHOUGH of a very different nature from most of the famous 
summer resorts, and managed upon unique principles, Chautauqua 
J attracts a large and a rapidly increasing number of visitors every 
summer. It is beautifully located on Chautauqua Lake, in the extreme wes- 
tern part of the State of New York. It is in the county of Chautauqua, 
which has the peculiarity of being bounded on two sides by the State of 
Pennsylvania. The lake is from one mile to three miles wide and is about 
1 8 miles long. Although but a short distance from Lake Erie, it lies 726 feet 
hioher than that large body of water and is about 1,400 feet above the ocean 
level. This is the greatest altitude of any navigable lake east of the Rocky 
Mountains, and with the exception of Lake Tahoe, in the Sierra Nevadas, 
the highest on the continent. The lake itself is extremely beautiful and its 
surroundings are picturesque and charming. Steamers ply upon its waters 
and small boats may be had by those who prefer a more quiet or a more 
leisurel}- trip. 

On the shores of the Lake are several popular resorts. At the southern 
end is Jamestown, on the New York, Penns\'lvania Railroad, connecting with 
the Erie from New York ('ity; and Lakewood, on the same railroad, is 
close b}-. Both ha\e hotels and are charming places. Mayville, perhaps 
equally attractive, is at the northern end of the lake, and on the Buffalo, New 
York and Philadelphia, and the Buffalo, Pittsburg and Western railroads. 
This place also has abundant accommodations for visitors. Between these 
places are Point Chautauqua, a popular Baptist resort, and Chc'xitauqua, the 
celebrated educational centre. 

Chautauqua is k)cated on a point which pushes out into the lake and 
which, to quite an extent, is still covered with forest trees. The original 
name of the place was P\air Point and for many years it was a famous local- 
itv for camp meetings. It is some 125 feet higher than the water of the lake. 
The ascent is gradual and the view from the elevation is delightful. 

In 1874 the grounds now occupied A\cre purchased b\- the Chautauqua 
Sunday-school Assembly and since that date the place has been the recog- 
nized centre of a peculiar and important educational movement. A portion 
of th.e forest was removed and buildings were erected. There has been an 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 137 

increasing interest in the work of the association and the place has had a 
steady growth. Nearly 150 acres have been inclosed. Several hundred 
" cottages," many of them elegant houses, ha\'e been erected, together with 
stores, public buildings, places of recreation and amusement, and a hotel 
which cost $100,000. Electric lights have been introduced, water is obtained 
from the purest part of the lake, the streets are well laid out, the sanitary 
conditions are excellent, and in every respect the place compares favorably 
with older and far more pretentious resorts. 

But it is principally the intellectual and educational features which draw 
people to Chautauqua. As the headquarters of the Chautauqua Literary 
and Scientific Circle it has a strong attraction for many thousands of people 
who are pursuing the course of study prescribed by the managers of that 
organization. The School of Languages is also held here, as is also a Mis- 
sionary Institute and a Sunday-school Assembly. Secular educators have 
here their Teachers' Retreat and literary and scientific, as well as religious 
matters are kept prominently before the attention of visitors. 

The season at Chautauqua lasts for six weeks. Many lectures by some of 
the ablest men in their respective lines are delivered, numerous meetings are 
held, and studies are pursued. Interspersed with these are splendid con- 
certs, fireworks, illuminations, and many and various recreations. Improve- 
ment is sought as well as pleasure, and the large numbers who attend the ses- 
sions each year and the growing popularity of the resort indicate that the 
plan here adopted is both practical and profitable. 




AUSABLE CHASM. 




HE wonderful chasm of the Ausable River is reached by a dehght- 
ful drive of about twelve miles from the city of Plattsburg, N. 
Y., through a section of country that presents many natural ob- 
jects of curiosity and interest. Beyond its \veird scenery, the chasm derives an 
additional attractiveness from the fact that it is an isolated formation, wholly 
independent of, and disconnected from, any other similar panorama. The 
surrounding country is comparatively level. Rut here a slight depression and 
a wooded valley with gently sloping sides suddenly arrest the attention of the 




A SIIARI' TURN. 



A LATERAL RAVINE. 



tourist, without, however, giving indication of the extent or variety of the 
scenes close at hand. At a point about eight miles from Plattsburg and one 
mile from Keesvillc, the river makes a leap of twenty feet into a semicircular 
basin of rare beauty; and about a mile further on, and in a spot of the wildest 
scenery, it makes another leap, this time down a declivity of i6o feet, where it 
forms the Birmingham Falls. Still further on and nearly opposite the entrance 
to the chasm, it plunges over the Horse Shoe Falls, where great blocks of 
sandstone are piled on one another, assimilating the smoothest cut masonry. 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 139 



From the base of the falls the river begins to deepen and grow narrower, 
and maintains for a considerable distance an angry foaming. 

At the beginning of the chasm proper, the river is hemmed into a chan- 
nel not over ten feet wide by walls of rock that rise abruptly to a height of 
from 100 to 200 feet. 
Lower down and to- 
ward the lake, the 
walls gradually spread 
apart till in some 
places there is a dis- 
tance between them 
of fifty feet, and then 
extend into a lateral 
canal, with sharp turns 
and occasional en- 
largements for a dis- 
tance of nearh' two 
miles. Lateral fis- 
sures, deep and nar- 
row, project from the 
main ravine at nearly 
right angles, and 
through one of these 
the abyss is reached 
by a stairway of over 
200 steps. The entire 
mass of the walls is- 
formed of laminae of 
sandstone, laid in such 
regular and precise 
order by the hand of 
nature as to produce the effect of a grand architectural ruin. From the 
crevices of these walls, innumerable hardy pines and cedars rise in stately 
form, as if planted by man to heighten the artistic beauty of the landscape; 
or, from apparently less secure footing, threateningly project their trunks at 
angles that give them the appearance of being about to be drawn into the 
depths of the chasm by an irresistible power. Dark branches and darker 




LONG GALLERY. 



I40 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

shadows thus he athwart the gorge, suggestive of the additional charm of 
rugged-nature danger. 

The trip through the chasm may be made either in a small boat, which is 
much preferable, or on foot and with absolute comfort, as the distance is not 
sullficient to entail more than a healthful amount of fatigue. A boat ride 
over the last half-mile is one of the pleasantest features of the excursion, and 
the novel sensation of shooting the rapids and floating over unknown depths 
is something long to be remembered. The chasm is owned by a company, by 
whom stone walks with substantial iron railings, firm bridges, and safe and 
commodious boats have been provided. 



CHATEAUGAY CHASM. 





F the thousands of 
tourists who visit 
the Adirondac re- 
gion of New York State each 
season, and content themselves 
with camping, climbing, and 
hunting, would extend their 
journey a little further north- 
ward than has heretofore been 
customary, they would find am- 
ple recompense in the vistas of 
rugged grandeur that are dis- 
played in the marvellous chasm 
of the Chateaugay River. The 
locality is just within the west- 
ern boundary line of Clinton 
Count}-, due west of Plattsburg, 
and north-northeast of Lyon 
Mountain. Norway Mountain 
rises on the southeast, Rand 
Hill is directly east. Owl's Head, in Franklin County, west. The vicinity com- 
prehends a number of lakes and large ponds, chief among which are Chateaugay 



POINT LOOKOUT. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 141 



Lake, Lower Chateaugay, which is geographically the upper, Ragged, Chazy, 
Meacham, Leon, Silver, Branch Lakes, and Round and Ingraham Ponds. 
The chasm is about a mile and a- half north of the village of Chateaugay, and 
is reached by rail from Plattsburg, from the central and western portions 
of New York by the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg Railroad, and from 
the latter city by the Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad. The waters 
of the Chateaugay River and 
the two lakes of the same 
name find an outlet to the 
St. Lawrence River through 
a hilly country. At the 
chasm the whole volume is 
forced through a narrow 
gorge, walled in on either 
side by high and perpendicu- 
lar cliffs, and with but one 
or two places where a de- 
scent can be made in safety. 
From the banks above splen- 
did and most interesting 
views may be had of the 
charming cascades and falls, 
and when the tourist has 
once gained the bottom sufifi- 
cient attractions will be 
found to engage the atten- 
tion for hours. Ample pro- 
visions have been made to 
guard against accidents, and the descent is accomplished with but little 
fatigue, though in places it is very abrupt. 

After leaving the pavilion on the edge of the cliff and passing down the 
steps cut in the solid rock, the tourist comes first to a broad flat rock by 
which the river dashes over a high ledge which forms the upper or first falls, 
a cascade of considerable volume and much brilliancy. Above is seen the 
rugged masonry of sandstone blocks formed by the regular stratification of 
the natural deposit, with frequent irregular fissures and seams nearly at right 
angles with the strata. It is quite natural, in viewing such scenery, to allow 




CASCADE AND BUTTRESS. 



142 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 



the imagination to mould what really exists into forms and shapes that have a 
similitude to mystic creations. Just as one's fancy discerns the most grotesque 
objects and structures in moon-illumined clouds, so here, but slight elasticity 
of imagination suffices to transform the rugged rocks that are really seen and 
may be felt into far-off vistas of feudal buildings with mighty embattled 
towers, arches, minarets, and the thousand and one architectural features of 

a lord's manor in the roman- 
tic days of King Arthur and 
his valiant knights of the 
round table. Such is the 
character of Cathedral Rock, 
the Bastile on the left, and 
the Niches of Jupiter on the 
right, all comparatively close 
to Vulcan's Cave. The 
Niches and Cave are seen 
high up among the cliffs, as 
the tourist wends his way 
still downward and along the 
narrow gallery of stone 
smoothed by nature, and 
past the rippling surface of 
the stream, to a point where 
the gorge begins to widen, 
and where the fury of the 
water is somewhat calmed 
by its extension in a wide, 
thin sheet over the sand- 
stone base that unites the 
two walls of the chasm. A little further on, the water that here sparkles in 
seeming rest glides down from one to another of a series of stone terraces, 
worn smooth by its own action in unnumbered years, seething and foaming at 
each interruption in its hasty progress, and sending up clouds of spray that 
exhibit in the sunlight a succession of iridescent bows spanning the verdure- 
clad walls. This spot is known as Rainbow Basin. 

Then passing close by the leaping waters down a natural stairway of 
nearly lOO steps, formed by the stratification of the stone, the Giant Gorge is 




RAINBOW FALLS — SPARTAN PASS. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 143 

reached. Pausing at the entrance a moment and looking backward through 
the chasm, a magnificent spectacle is presented. Upward the walls gradually 
approach each other, so that the distance at the top is scarcely twenty-five 
feet. The ferns and foliage that clothe the towering cliffs seem almost close 
enough to interlace and arch the heights of the gulf. Entering the gorge 
the first object that rivets the attention is the mouth of Vulcan's Cave, sixty 
feet above the bed of the 
river and fully 120 feet from 
the top of the over-hanging 
cliffs. So far as is known 
the interior of this cave was 
never visited by human be- 
ings till within a few years. 
It was first reached by means 
of long, spliced ladders and 
with considerable diiificulty, 
but now an inclosed stair- 
wa}' is provided, and who- 
ever has the hardihood to 
attempt to penetrate its re- 
cesses will be rewarded with 
the view of a chamber thirty 
feet square, with a number 
of gothic arches supported 
by massive pillars, dormer 
windows in miniature, irreg- 
ularly disposed niches, and 
ceiling and wall decorations 
of nature's sculpture-work pui-i'ir ruck— giant gorge. 

in the most weird, fantastic shapes. Near the entrance to the cave is a 
plateau from which a view of another mile or so down the chasm, and into a 
region as yet accessible only with great danger, maybe had; up to 1888 it 
had not been sufficiently explored to determine its attractions, but evi- 
dences were found of the presence of other caves. Descending from Vul- 
can's Cave the tourist passes the foot of Pulpit Rock, and leaving the walk 
at its edge, picks his way along the margin of the stream for a distance of 
half a mile, and then reaches the grottoes of Juno, Venus, and Minerva, 




144 THE GREAT \VOx\DERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

which constitute a cluster of the most interesting features of the entire- 
localit)'. 

i\s a popular resort Chateaugay Chasm is still in its infancy. We have 
illustrated and described sufficient of its most accessible attractions to inter- 
est the tourist and direct attention to it, believing that within a few years 
venturesome travellers will discover so much more to please the eye and ex- 
cite wonder, that it will be said of the chasm as it was of the wealth and wis- 
dom of Solomon, the half has not been told. 



WATKINS GLEN. 




HIS beautiful Glen is situated west of and partly in the village of 
Watkins, Schuyler County, N. Y., near the head of Seneca Lake. 
It is 20 miles from Elmira and 40 from Geneva. It is on the 
Geneva and Corning Railroad, also on the Northern Central Railroad, which 
connects at Canandaigua with the New York Central Railroad. It is also 
reached by a line of steamers, running from Geneva to Watkins, over Seneca 
Lake, touching at all points. This is a delightful way of reaching the Glen 
from the north, as the scenery of this beautiful lake is equal to anything on 
the continent. The word Glen gives but a faint idea of the gorge; it is a 
marvellous rift in the mountain, which appears to have been made by some 
stupendous earthquake. 

The Glen, with its dashing, flashing, cascading stream, is a really wonder- 
ful natural curiosity. It is not properly a glen, but a numerous succession 
and variety of glens. At every turn there is material for a wonderful picture. 
It is one of Nature's reservoirs of eternal coolness. Even in July and August 
the air is cool, fresh, and bracing; laden with sweet odors, the fragrance of 
many flowers. It is renowned the v\orld over for its wonderful scenery. It 
is as well worthy a visit as the Falls of Niagara. The total ascent of the 
Glen is about 800 feet. Looking upward, what a sight bursts upon us! 
Towering and irregular clifTs of dark rock, angular and sullen, rise one above 
another till they appear to meet in the clouds, and seem to forbid approach. 
At numerous places in the Glen we pause, and wonder how it is possible to 
go much farther, the way aj^pears impassable, and the distance so inaccessi- 
ble; but as we advance the path always opens, and gi\'es far more interest 
to the ascent than though we could clearly mark our way before us. 




WATKINS' GLEN. 



Total Ascent, Soofee!. 



146 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

Minnehaha is one of the numerous beautiful cascades; it is irregular, yet 
full of grace. The water, broken several times in its fall, is dashed into foam 
and spray, which forms a brilliant contrast to the dark, rocky surroundings. 
About lOO feet beyond Minnehaha is the Fairy Cascade, which, with one 
graceful bound, leaps into Neptune's Pool. For sublimity and grandeur 
Cavern Gorge is probably unsurpassed by any in the Glen. Near this beau- 
tiful cavern is another, known as Cavern Cascade, which leaps 60 feet in a 
single column from the rocks above into what is known as the Grotto, which 
is a dark, damp, weird cavern. 

After emerging from the dark chasm, we see before us silvery cascades^ 
quiet pools, and moss-garnished walls overarched by stately forest trees and 
tb.ick shrubbery, with a broad light flooding the distance; and far above 
through the emerald foliage, like a web of gossamer, is seen the beautiful 
iron bridge spanning the Glen. The beauty of the foliage is very impressive,, 
and the vegetation is almost tropical. From this point along the verge of 
the gorge is a " new " pathway, with a fine stairway, broken by platforms re- 
cently erected, and which leads to the building known as the " Swiss Cottage,"' 
now a cottage of the Glen Mountain House, the only hotel connected with 
the Glen, which is located on a sort of natural shelf, 100 feet above the level 
of the stream, and 200 feet above the level of Glen Alpha, overlooking The 
Vista, and nestling among the trees and shrubbery. Thousands of feet of 
pathway and many of the stairs are cut in the solid rock. 

A few rods above the Mountain House is situated Hope's Art Gallery, 
which was built by Captain J. Hope, late of 82 Fifth Avenue, New York, 
and contains a superb collection of more than 100 of his finest and most 
celebrated paintings. From this point Sylvan Gorge is not far distant. It 
is considered one of the wildest, most beautiful, and interesting portions of 
the Glen. A succession of little rapids and cascades leap into Sylvan Gorge, 
of which the upper termination is called the Sylvan Rapids, and they glide 
and dance very beautifully through their irregular rock)- channel. Here we 
have a delightful bird's-eye view down through S\-lvan Gorge, with its many 
windings and mysterious recesses. 

Looking upward we find ourselves in Glen Cathedral. All attempt at de- 
scription fails, and words are inadequate to paint a picture that would do this 
subject justice, or convey to the mind an idea of its grandeur. The Cathe- 
dral is an immense oblong amphitheatre, nearly an eighth of a mile in length. 
Here the Glen is wider than at any other point; the rocky walls tower to a 




GLEN MOUNTAIN HOUSE, WATKINS GLEN. 



148 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

great height — over 300 feet — and are richly tapestried with mosses and cling- 
ing vines, and crowned with lofty pines and other evergreen trees. The floor 
is composed of a smooth and even surface of rock; the vaulted arch of the 
skv forms the dome. In the upper end the Central Cascade forms the Choir, . 
and, as it dashes from rock to rock, sings continual hymns of praise to the 
Infinite Power that created this mighty temple. 

Central Cascade has a beautiful fall of about 60 feet, and while far above, 
projecting through the trees, is seen Pulpit Rock, close by is the Glen of the 
Pools, so called from its great variety and number of rock basins. Situated 
near the upper end of the Cathedral is a large and beautiful pool, called the 
Baptismal Font. The Grand Staircase, .which is close by, is 170 feet high. 
We have to ascend this before we can reach the " Poet's Dream," which pre- 
sents a magnificent scene, and afTords new phases of magical beauty like the 
•ever-varying changes in a kaleidoscope. 

The Triple Cascade is considered b)- many to be the finest in the Glen. 
As its name indicates, it is composed of three portions, one above another, 
each different in form from the others, and forming a beautiful combination. 
Just below the Triple Cascade, on the south side, a little brook leaps over 
the brow of a great cliff nearly 400 feet high down into the Glen. The water 
does not descend in a smooth sheet, but in a m}-riad of tiny threads and 
drops, forming a sparkling crystal veil, behind which our course leads. This 
novel cascade is known as Rainbow Falls. The space between the fall and 
the cliff is narrow, but sufificientl}- wide to allow free passage. In the after- 
noon, from June to September, when fair \\eather prevails, the rays of the 
sun fall into the gorge, and the enraptured visitor, in looking through the veil, 
beholds two most beautiful rainbows, a primary and secondary — a sight that, 
once enjoyed, can never be forgotten. 

Glen Arcadia well deserves its name, for a more beautiful scene cannot be 
imagined. It has been called "The Artist's Dream," where all the beauties 
of the other glens, silver cascades, and cr}-stal pools, light and shadow, sharp 
angles and graceful curves, foliage, sky, and rock, mingle and produce a pic- 
ture that more resembles an ecstatic dream than anything that can elsewhere 
be found. Other scenes of great beauty or interest are Pluto Falls, on w hich 
the sun never shines; the Arcadian Fall, ^\■hicll is a beautiful cascade, falling 
into a kind of natural grotto, and at its foot is a beautiful basin; Elfin Gorge, 
which is a scene of wondrous beaut}*; Glen Facility, at which point the most 
important of the great natural beauties of the Glen terminate; but many 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 149 

visitors go half a mile beyond, to see the magnificent new iron bridge of the 
Syracuse, Geneva and Corning Railroad Company, which spans the Glen at a 
height of 165 feet above the water. In our description we have passed 
through 2^ miles, and gained a level 600 feet above our starting-point. 




NIAGARA FALLS. 

MONG the sublime sights of the world the Falls of Niagara easily 
hold the highest rank. There are other cataracts with a much 
greater descent and other falls with far more picturesque surround- 
ings. But, so far as is known, nowhere else is there such an immense volume 
of water pouring over a mighty precipice, or such a majestic and unceasing 
exhibition of terrific power. It is estimated that 2,000,000 tons of water pass 
over this enormous ledge every minute. Its name, Niagara, is remarkably 

appropriate. It 



is derived from 
-M\ an Indian word 
meaning the 
"thunder of 
water" — a term 
which is natu- 
rally suggested 
by the constant 
and terrific roar 
|gl of the falls. 

In this mighty 
cataract the 
beautiful, the 
magnificent, 

and the sublime are intimately blended. The visitor is at once charmed and 
astounded. The beauty is indescribable, but the majestic predominates, while 
the grandeur is altogether beyond the power of the human mind to portray. 
A few of the leading features can be imperfectly outlined, but the grand view 
of the falls and the impression which it makes upon the visitor cannot be 
adequately presented by either words or pictures. Writers and painters of 
great renown have endeavored to portray the scene " only to find in the end 




THE HORSESHOE FALL. 



I50 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

that the EngHsh language was too poor and the scope of human skill too 
narrow to render justice to so sublime a theme." 

The Niagara Falls are on the Niagara River, which flows northward from 
Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and which carries the surplus waters of the upper 
great lakes, and of several smaller ones, toward the St. Law^rence. It also 
forms the boundary between the State of New^ York and the Province of 
Ontario. The distance is only thirty-six miles, but there is a total descent of 
333 feet. Of this but twenty feet occurs in the first sixteen miles from Lake 
Erie. The river contains several islands, the largest of which is Grand Island, 
situated only a few miles from Lake Erie. This island is several miles long, has 
an area of about 17,000 acres, and is famous as the place at which an enthusias- 
tic Hebrew once attempted to found "Ararat, a city of refuge for the Jews," 
in which he hoped to gather all the Jews in the world. As it leaves Lake 
Erie the river is about three-fourths of a mile wide, but below Grand Island 
it reaches a width of nearly three miles and, with its small islands and quiet 
surface, resembles a picturesque lake. Further down, by a contraction of 
the channel and a fall of fifty-two feet in the bed of the river in a distance of 
about one mile, the mighty current known as the Rapids is formed. Although 
there is an immense volume of water and the river is of great depth, the sur- 
face is always covered with a white foam. The rapids terminate in the falls, 
the distance from Lake Erie being about twent)"-two miles. 

The earliest printed mention of the falls was contained in an account of 
the explorations of Jacques Cartier in 1535. In 1613 Samuel de Champlain 
marked the location on a map of his voyages. But the earliest known de- 
scription of the falls was given in 1678 by Father Louis Hennepin, a French 
missionary. With this description there was a drawing of the falls as they 
then appeared. A comparison of this sketch with the falls at the present 
time shows that they have undergone great changes in outline during the past 
two centuries. But their grandeur still remains as unspeakable as it was 
when he wrote of the "vast and prodigious Cadence of Water which falls 
down after a surprising and astonishing manner, insomuch that the L^niverse 
docs not afford its Parallel." 

Scientists assert that the falls were originally near Lewiston, and were 
caused by the filling up, by glacial action, of the old bed of the river. When 
the new channel was opened the water fell over the edge of the plateau wliich 
fronts the low region around Lake Ontario. Since then it has been con- 
stantly cutting its way backward toward Lake Erie, having now covered a 




NIAGARA FALLS. 



152 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

distance of about seven miles. The rate of its retrocession is unknown. The 
estimates of scientists vary from one foot per year to three feet per century. 
Even at the most rapid rate designated a period of over 30,000 years has 
passed since the river commenced wearing away the face of the plateau over 
which its waters fell. At the present location of the falls the bed of the 
river is of hard limestone to a depth of about ninety feet. Underneath this 
is a much softer material which is more rapidly dissolved and washed away. 
By this uneven wearing of the rock there has been formed, at some portions 
of the cataract, a projecting ledge which will eventually break off and in- 
stantly carry the 
falls backward a 
distance of sev- 
eral feet. It is 
predicted that a 
bed of sandstone 
Avill be reached 
Mdiich will lower '^ 
the falls so that 
they will be only 
eighty feet high, 
and which will 
be so hard as to 

almost wholly resist the erosive action of the water. To reach this sand 
stone formation will, according to the estimates of geologists, require a 
period of about 10,000 years. 

At the falls the river is divided into two portions by Goat Island. This 
is a small tract of land about 150 rods long by 70 rods wide, and contains 
about 65 acres. It rises about 40 feet above the water and is one of the most 
beautiful spots in the vicinity. It is reached by an iron bridge, 360 feet in 
length, built upon piers. From this point a splendid view of the rapids is 
obtained. Between this island and the shore is Bath Island, a beautiful spot 
which in summer is covered with luxuriant verdure. At a little distance 
from Goat Island is a massive rock projecting to the brow of the falls. Many 
years ago a stone structure, some 20 or 30 feet in height, and called Terrapin 
Tower, was built upon this rock. It was reached from Goat Island by a 
bridge, and but for the feeling of insecurity which the visitor could not throw 
off it would have been one of the pleasantest places, as it was one of the 







THE HKIDGE LEADING TO BATH AND GOAT ISLAND. 



154 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 




finest points of view, at the falls. The constant motion caused by the steady- 
fall of such an enormous quantity of water, and the gradual wearing away of 

the face of the falls, at length 
rendered it so manifestly 
unsafe that it was destro}'ed 
with gunpowder. 

The width of the river at 
the falls is 4,750 feet, of 
ji which Goat Island occupies 
ft about 1,000 feet. The width 
of the American Fall is about 
1,100 feet, broken, however, 
by a small island, while the 
Canadian Fall is more than 
twice as wide. The line of 
the latter, or Horseshoe 
Fall, is curved to such an 
extent as to make the mea- 
surement of the face of the 
fall much greater than the 
distance from Goat Island to the shore in a straight line. On account of 
the direction of the current, as well as the greater width of the channel, the 
quantity of water passing over the Canadian Fall is many times greater than 
that going over the Ameri- 
can side. The height of the 
precipice is 158 feet on the 
Canadian side and 167 feet 
on the American portion. 
The Horseshoe Fall has worn 
away very much faster in the 
middle than it has near the 
outer edges and is rapidly 
assuming an angular form. 
On the American side also 
there is, of late years, a ten- 
dency to cut away in the middle much faster than elsewhere. By the falling of 
vast masses of rock the outline of the falls is frequently modified. Table 



THE TERRAPIN TOWER, DESTROYED IN" 1873. 




THE OLD TABLE-ROCK. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 155 



Rock, once a very prominent feature on the Canadian side, has entirely fallen 
in, though a spot near its former location is still called by that name. Other 
large portions have fallen in recent years, but the essential features of the 
falls remain unimpaired. 

From Goat Island there is a bridge leading to Luna Island, a mass of rock 
occupying an area of about three-fourths of an acre, which separates what is 
know^i as the Central Fall from the American Fall. Just beyond is a spiral 
stairway leading to the foot of the falls. This is known as the Biddle Stair- 
way and received its name from Nicholas Biddle, president of the famous 
United States Bank, by whose direction it was constructed. By this stairway 
access is gained 
to the Cave of 
the Winds. As 
already noted 
the rock near 
the bottom of 
the falls is dis- 
solved and 
washed a w a y 
much faster 
than is the 
harder r6ck 
near the top. 

This process of undermining seems to have gone on quite rapidly at the Cen- 
tral Fall, and the overhanging rock projects for quite a distance. The tre- 
mendous force of the current also throws the water many feet beyond the 
brink of the precipice. Thus there is left a sufficiently wide but a " rough, 
slippery, half-subterranean half-submarine pathway " by wdiich one can go 
behind the vast torrent of water. Waterproof clothing must be worn and 
an experienced guide should be secured. The air is greatly compressed, the 
mist is heavy and the roar is terrific. The first view from beneath the falls 
is absolutely appalling. But when the instinctive feeling of fear has passed 
the scene appears magnificent beyond description. A plank road has been 
laid to rocks outside, and near the foot of the falls, from which point another 
splendid view may be obtained. From Goat Island bridges lead to the Three 
Sisters, a cluster of pretty little islands lying in the rapids. There are also 
islands nearer the Canadian shore. 




NIAGARA RIVER BELOW THE FALLS — THE CANADA SIDE. 



156 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 



In order to make free to the people of the world the wonderful attractions 
of the falls, place and keep the grounds in suitable condition, and put an end 
to the annoyances as well as the extortions to which visitors had been sub- 
jected, Governor Lucius Robinson sent a message to the Legislature of New 
York, in 1879, in which he recommended that the State take possession of a 
suitable area of land in the vicinity and set it aside as a public park. The 
subject was agitated until 1883, when commissioners were appointed to locate 
the lands which it seemed desirable to secure. The property designated in 
their report was appraised, by parties appointed by the courts, at $[,433,429.- 
50, which sum was duly paid by the State, 

On the 15th of July, 1885, "The New York State Park at Niagara Falls" 

was opened to 



the public with 
appropriate 
ceremonies. 
The grounds, 
which include 
, _j Goat Island , 
with several 
smaller islands, 
and a strip 
along the bank 
of the river, 
comprise an 
area of about 

107 acres. They are under the care of commissioners, who are authorized to 
maintain the property in good condition and make necessary improvements. 
The bank of the river has been terraced, fences, and barns, with other un- 
sightly objects, have been removed, a reception house has been built and vari- 
ous other means have been taken to promote the comfort of visitors, while an 
elevator at the Cave of the Winds is to be constructed, and certain other im- 
provements are either being made or will soon be effected. A railway has 
been built from the park to the foot of the falls, and a steamer, called Maid 
of the Mist, crosses the river. From this little craft a splendid view of the 
falls may be obtained. Passengers in the car and the steamer are charged 
a small sum and there is a charge for a guide in the Cave of the Winds, but 
entrance to the park, and to all points of interest, is entirely free. 




NIAGARA FROM NKAR QUEENSTOWN HEIGHTS. 



158 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

At a somewhat later date measures were taken by the legislature of 
Ontario to secure a public park on the Canadian side of the falls. After 
some delay these efforts were successful, and on the 22d of June, 1887, the 
Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park was opened without ceremony to the 
public use. Roadways have been laid out, platforms built from which to 
view the falls, and an elevator has been constructed to take people from the 
cliff to a bank 80 feet below. From the latter point access is gained to the 
recess behind the Horseshoe Fall. The stairs leading to the foot of the falls 
are steep, but can be passed without much difficulty. Waterproof clothing 
and a guide are required if one is to pass behind the fall. The air is so 
greatly compressed that it is impossible to go a long distance in this direc- 
tion. This park contains 118 acres of land, is some two and a half miles 
long, and embraces several small islands. To some portions of the park a 
small admission fee is charged. An immense Crystal Palace has been con- 
structed and various other attractions have been added. 

The bridges across the river below the falls are objects of interest. The 
first to be erected was a suspension bridge which was built under the direc- 
tion of the celebrated civil engineer, John A. Roebling. It is about two miles 
from the falls, was in process of construction about three years, and was 
opened for use in 1855. It measures 821 feet and 4 inches between tlie 
towers, is 245 feet above the water, and has a public roadway at the bottom 
and the Grand Trunk Railroad track on top. Thirty-one years after its com 
pletion the stone towers built to support the cables upon which the bridge 
was hung were replaced by towers made of steel. What is known as the 
New Suspension Bridge was built in 1868. It measures 1,268 feet between 
the towers and is 230 feet above the water. It is only about 50 rods from 
the falls, and from the top, which is reached by an elevator on the Canadian 
side, an excellent view may be obtained. It is used for foot passengers and 
carriages. The most remarkable bridge in the vicinity, and the first bridge 
of the kind ever built in the United States, is the cantilever bridge, which 
was built in 1883. It is 895 feet in length and 245 feet above the water. 
The cantilevers are supported by two enormous steel towers, 130 feet high, 
resting upon stone piers 39 feet high, which, in turn, are supported by massive 
masonry resting upon solid rock. This bridge is about 300 feet above the 
railroad suspension bridge, and is used for railroad purposes only. It has 
two tracks, one of which is used by the New York Central Railroad and the 
other by the Michigan Central road. The span across the river is 500 feet 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 159 



in length and is the longest truss span in the world which carries two lines 
of railroad track. 

Between the falls and Lewiston, a distance of seven miles, there is a 
descent in the river bed of 104 feet. The water flows through a gorge vary- 
ing in width from about 800 to 1,200 feet, with sides so steep that stairways 
are needed to enable one to get from the bank to the river's edge. Much of 
the way the banks are from 200 to 350 feet high. Some three miles below 
the falls is the famous Whirlpool, which is caused by a short bend in the 
channel of the 
river by which 
the water is vio- 
lently turned 
toward the t 
Canadian shore I 
and quick! y ft 
forced back to Wil 
the American 
side. Trunks of 
large trees have 
been kept in 
constant mo- 
tion in this 

whirlpool for several weeks before getting into the current beyond. In the 
rapids above the whirlpool the motion of the water is so violent that the mid- 
dle of the stream is said to be 30 feet higher than the edges. From Lewiston 
to Lake Ontario the course of the river is tranquil and the gorge is reduced to 
a depth of about 30 feet. 

At the village of Niagara Falls, situated on the river and close to the cat- 
aract, are many hotels, some of them very large and well appointed, which 
furnish ample accommodations to visitors. The village of Suspension Bridge, 
one and a half miles below, also contains popular hotels. The former village 
has about 3,500 and the latter about 2,500 inhabitants. 




MAC^AKA RIVER — THE WHIRLPOOL. 



THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 




HE St. Lawrence River is the volume of the overflow of Lakes 
Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Its course is in 
a general northeasterly direction. From the point of its dchoiicher 
from Lake Ontario to the crossing of the 45th parallel at Cornwall, it forms 
the boundary line between New York State and the Province of Ontario, 
Canada, a distance of 85 miles. For a further distance of more than 400 
miles it leads through the Canadian Provinces of Montreal and Quebec. The 
final 200 miles, or nearly all of that portion below the city of Quebec, is prac- 
tically a vast sound, varying in width from 6 to 30 miles. The ever-varying 
features and the constant change of vista afforded the voyager, overflowing 
at every turn with unexpected instances of those combinations of water, land, 
and sky which we recognize as beautiful, make up the charm and glory of the 
Upper St. Lawrence River. 

Much has been said by a multitude of writers concerning the rapids of the 
St. Lawrence, down which the large and staunch passenger steamers daily 
perform their exciting and apparently perilous descent. These rapids are 
seven in number, and are divided by intervals of smooth waters and broad 
lakes. Between the passage of the Long Sault and the Lachine there is an 
interval in voyaging down-stream of about five hours; the return is made by 
all craft around the rapids through a series of costly canals. 

The St. Lawrence was originally known as the Great River of Canada, 
and was also known by the names of Cataraqui and the Iroquois. The name 
it now bears was bestowed upon it by the explorer Jacques Cartier, who first 
penetrated its mouth upon the festival day of St. Lawrence. 

The steamboat express, which is a part of the through route via the St. 
Lawrence River to Montreal, leaves Niagara Falls over the Lake Shore Divi- 
sion of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg Railroad, arriving at the thriv- 
ing town of Clayton, where close connection is made with the steamer for 
Alexandria Bay and the trip down the St. Lawrence. Through sleepers arrive 
here every morning, also from New York, which is only 11 hours distant via 
Utica and Albany. All lines of steamers stop at Clayton. 

If you come from the West, you will be on board the steamer at Clayton 
just as the sun has fairly thrown ofT the rosy drapery of his couch, and touch- 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. i6i 

ing at Round Island, Thousand Island Park, Central Park, and Alexandria 
Bay, within the next hour you will find the pretty skiffs or convenient steam 
yachts of scores of cottagers waiting to capture and bear away among the 
islands their happy, newly-arrived guests, and you are indeed fortunate if you 
are numbered among these. 

There is a strange enchantment in the stilly mornings here. The city, its 




ON THE ISLANDS. 



pressing cares, its hurry; its heedless, and often heartless, strife for supremacy, 
seem far away, and as unreal as a troubled dream that is past. Sometimes 
the voices of nature hint to us that here is the true life to lead — that all else 
is dross and a delusion. Dawn ushers in the beginning of the through trav- 
eller's trip down the river, and he makes up his mind whether or no the 
vaunted Thousand Islands are all that they are claimed to be. First, let it 
be understood that all of the land you can see to the left is made up of islands. 



i62 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

one overlapping the other along the distance until they give the impression 
of being continuous coast line. Not so ; they are threaded by many devious 
and charming channels. 

As Round Isand is approached the graceful proportions of the large hotel 
in its centre are revealed through interstices in the dense foliage along its 
shores. From this point there is a charming succession of pretty, brightly 
painted cottages all along the cliff-like frontage of tjie island. Each year 
witnesses the rearing of scores of costly and beautiful villas upon coigns of 
vantage, and island property appreciates rapidly in value. After passing 
Round Island we have a fine view of Thousand Island Park and the clustered 
islands in its vicinity. We soon enter the narrow precinct of the American 
channel, which for several miles separates Wellesley Island from the mainland. 
Rock Island is on the right, and beautiful cottages are here, there, and every- 
where. 

At the lower end of Densmore Bay, which indents Wellesley Island at this 
point, are the " Seven Isles," a most romantic spot, which one must needs 
explore with a row-boat to discover its hidden charms. " Bella Vista," a 
large and costly place, is now noted upon the right, distinguishable b}' its 
square tower and ultra-modern style of architecture. Perched upon the cap 
of a cliff stands the villa known as " Louisiana Point." The tall tower loom- 
ing above the trees of a mid-stream island ahead is the large villa upon Com- 
fort Island. 

Within easy hail down-stream is Nobby Island. It hides modestly behind 
Friendly Island. To the west of Nobby Island stands Welcome Island. A 
pretty cottage stands in its centre. A notable property passed by the steamer 
just before reaching the " Bay," and the last in the channel, is that of Mr. 
Albert B. Pullman, of Chicago, known as Cherry Island. 

As the steamer rounds up to her dock at Alexandria Bay, the wealth and 
variety of picturesque surrounding, in which the natural and artificial are so 
happily blended, almost bewilder the new-comer, whose imagination must be 
vivid indeed if he has conjured from the recesses of expectation anything half 
so beautiful. The huge and shapely hotels loom up close beside the water, 
and sable representatives of each lay in wait for the coming tourist upon the 
wharf. In the foreground of the accompanying picture of Alexandria Bay is 
seen the famous Thousand Island House. 

Round Island, occupied as Round Island Park, is located in the centre of 
the American channel, 8 miles above Alexandria Bay. One hundred and fifty 




^-^^t^ :^ 



ROUND ISLAND PARK. 



i64 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 



acres of land, beautifully diversified by sun and shade, are contained in the 
island, every portion of which has some special attraction. The entire island 
is under the management of " The Round Island Park " Company, a stock 
company with a capital of $50,000. The hotel is modern, and well conducted. 
There are no two sunsets just alike at Round Island. Each day brings 
some special beauty. The going down of the sun, as it sinks upon the green 
Canadian hills, realizes the finest phenomenon in nature, save only that of 

light itself. Whether 



the declining orb 
drapes himself with 
the purple and gold 
of a royal couch, or 
sinks amid the tears 
and sackcloth beto- 
kening a coming 
storm, he is always 
grand in his leave- 
taking. Men in all 
ages have contempla- 
ted this phenomenon 
with aw^e and admira- 
tion — even to adora- 
tion. What a place 
for a moonlight row ! 
What enchanted islets 
to thread between, if 
one but knows the 
HETWEKN THE ISLANDS. Way I In mldsummcr 

there are veritably but five hours of darkness upon the St. Lawrence. At 10 
o'clock the sunset yet stains the western sky; and soon after 3 there are 
manifest tokens of the coming of another day. 

The Methodist organization, known as the Thousand Island Park Associa- 
tion, began its operations in 1875 by the purchase of a large territory at the 
head of Wellesley Island, aggregating 1,000 acres. Thousand Island Park 
now stands, with its 300 tasty cottages, as the most extensive of the denom- 
inational resorts upon the river. The large hotel recently erected is a fine 
and costly structure, which must aid greatly in advancing the interests of the 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 165 

park. As at Chautauqua, a regular programme of the season's exercises is 
announced. 

It is a mooted question if the islands which dot the broadened river in 
front of Alexandria Bay look prettiest at sunrise or eventide. At evening 
the camp-fires begin to twinkle out of the mellow purple gloom, and the 
merry sounds of human occupancy float out from the island homes. It is an 
hour of repose which even the wordy wrangling on the dock concerning the 
" catches " of the day can scarce disturb ; but wait, a finer thing is yet to come. 
Take supper and come out half an hour later. Now, displayed against the 




" BONNIE CASTLE.'' 

black masses where the islands stand, beneath the lingering stain of the sun- 
set, are a score of devices, wrought in twinkling lamps; here an anchor, there 
a star, a harp, or initial letter. Far up toward the cap of the lofty tower 
upon the Thousand Island House glows the white heat of an electric lamp, 
and along every cornice through the garden below and over among the rock 
and verdure of the illuminated Grossman House, a thousand lamps and tor- 
ches dance in the eddying night-wind, each tiny flame caught up and reflected 
on every ripple of the deep black stream ; and as we gaze and admire, the 
night is pierced by the swift flight of rockets, which mount into the dome of 
heaven, and, shattering there, scatter particolored stars far out upon the silent 
tide. 



i66 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

The largest and most costly, if not the most picturesque, of the many hun- 
dreds of cottages along the river are found in the vicinity of Alexandria Bay, 
many of them being within an easy row of the dock. The passing voyager, 
who onl}' looks at these places from the steamer's deck, can have but slight 
idea of theloving care, even extravagant outlay, lavished upon many of them. 
One of the best-known properties in the vicinity is " Bonnie Castle," the prop- 
erty and favorite home of the late Dr. J. G. Holland. It is said that the final 
words of that genial and popular writer, who died in October, i88i, after a 
jo\-ous summer at " Bonnie Castle," related to his life here, which had ex- 
tended through five summers. " It is to me," he said, " the sweetest spot on 
earth." He then went on to speak of the constant, all-winter longing he felt, 
almost counting the days to the approach of the time when he could escape 
the weariness, or, as he expressed it, the " incessant grind," of the city to this 
delightful home. Dr. Holland is also credited with the Jiiot: "We stayxw New 
York, but we live upon the St. Lawrence." 

Over beyond the islands which shut out the western horizon when look- 
ing from the bay, is W'estminster Park, which occupies an extensive domain 
upon the lower end of Wellesley Island, This park, like others upon the river, 
is under denominational influence, being Presbyterian in form. The hotel, 
known as the Westminster, is composed of two roomy buildings. In Poplar 
Bay one finds a commodious dock, and a semicircle of bright and prett}' 
homes. Just here is the entrance to the weird Lake of the Island, a large 
pond hidden awa}' in the midst of W'ellesley Island, to which access is had 
through a narrow and precipitous channel. This pond or lake is two miles 
in length and nearl}' a mile in width. 

On lca\ing Alexandria Bay for Montreal, scattering islands, man)- of them 
quite as wikl as when the white man first voyaged here, are passed all the way 
down to Brockville, where the Thousand Island system terminates in a group 
called the " Three Sisters." Brockville is a substantial Canadian city of 10,000 
people. It is 125 miles from Montreal by the river. The traveller will note 
the large number of fine private properties along the rugged river front, both 
above and below the town. Immediately opposite is the American town of 
Morristown. Fourteen miles beyond, the Canadian town of Prescott and the 
American city of Ogdensburg stand vis-a-vis upon the banks of the river. A 
railway connects the St. Lawrence at this point with Ottawa, the Canadian 
capital. Ogdensburg is the focal point of three lines of railwa}-, and a depot 
for a vast transshipment of grain and lumber from the W^est. It has an ener- 



i68 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

getic population of nearly 12,000, largely engaged in manufacturing and 
internal commerce. 

Five miles below Ogdensburg is Chimney Island, where vestiges of French 
fortifications still exist, and immediately below are the first of the series of 
rapids, the Gallopes, and shortly thereafter the Rapide de Plat is met. Neither 
of the swift places is especially exciting, but they serve as a preliminary to 
the great Long Sault (pronounced long son), which is next in order. A long 
reach of smooth water intervenes, however, during which we pass the small 
American town of VVaddington and the attractive Canadian city of Morris- 
burg, Just below this place is the battle-field of Chrisler's Farm, where an 
engagement occurred in 18 13 between British and' American forces, while the 
latter were marching to the capture of Montreal and Quebec. Over upon the 
American side is Massena Landing, whence a stage connecting with a steam 
ferry runs to the fine old medicinal resort known as Massena Springs, which, 
aside from its picturesque and healthful location, the excellent Hatfield 
House, and good fishing, boasts of remarkably strong and potent sulphur 
waters. 

At Dickinson's Landing, the boat, which is well fitted for her daily task 
of breasting the wild surges of the rapids, turns in the swift current, and a mile 
ahead the passengers see the white, stormy waters of the Long Sault stretch- 
ing from shore to shore. Now the real fun begins. There is a sudden hush 
to the monotone of the steamer's pulsations. We are in the grasp of the cur- 
rent. Extra men are at the wheel, and others are aft in charge of a spare tiller. 
If you are inclined to be nervous now, remember that steamers have been 
going down here ever since 1840, and no passenger vessel has ever been 
wrecked in the rapids. The first plunge is over a cascade at "the cellar," and 
is exhilarating. In the vast expanse of broken waters fresh sensations await 
us. Now across our way a vast green billow, like the oncoming surge of 
the ocean upon soundings after a nor' easter, disputes our passage. It is of 
the beautiful green where the sunlight shows through its wedge-like cap that 
one sees upon the coral beds of Nassau, or at the deep centre of the Horse 
shoe Fall at Niagara, or in drug-store jars. It does not rise and fall, advance 
and recede. It simply stands there forever, a vast wall of water through 
■which wc cleave our way with a fierce, brief struggle, only to meet a second, 
a third, a fourth like wave beyond. 

The rapids are about two miles In length, but there is a continuance of 
reasonably swift water for several miles further. ' The actual fight between 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 169 

the boat and the angry billows is over in less than three minutes. The im- 
portant town of Cornwall, where several large factories are located, is shortly 
seen upon the Canadian shore. After leaving Cornwall we bid good-by to 
American soil, for here the international boundary line intersects the river. 

Four miles below Cornwall the Indian village of St. Regis is noted on the 
rifjht shore. We 



are now on the 
broad .Lake St. 
Francis, which 
is about 25 miles 
long. We pass 
the village of 
Lancaster on 
the left shore of 
the lake, when 
we arrive at the 
riveroncemore. 
It dashes off im- 
petuously just 
afterleavingthe 
village of Co- 
teau du Lac, 
and carries us 
headlong down 
the "Coteau 
Rapids," which 
are about two 
miles long; then 
the "Cedars," 

chree miles, and down the rapids. 

the Cascades, the village at the foot of which is Beauharnois; and now a 
second lake is met, as if the river.dreaded the final plunge down the famous 
Lachine. Passing down the lake we soon come in sight of the great city of 
Montreal. The village of Lachine is simply a picturesque suburb of the city. 
The reader may ask why the curious name, La Chine (Tlxc China), is applied 
to this point. It is said that the earlier voyagers believed that the St. Law- 
rence opened a way to the Pacific, and therefore to the Flowery Kingdom. 




I70 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

From the deck of the steamer the passenger may see the bold outHne, 
standing out against the sunset, of a huge stone watch-tower, and if close 
enough the crumbling remains of two stone forts built to protect the settle- 
ments along Lake St. Louis from the savages. Onward forges our speedy 
craft, and ere long the troubled waters of Lachineare seen far ahead, a snowy 
breastwork across our path. The lake is again a river. We are abreast the 
village of Lachine, where the canal from Montreal debouches into the St. 
Lawrence. The muddy Ottawa pours its tide into the pure blue waters in 
which we have voyaged since morning, as the Missouri pollutes the Missis- 
sippi. We are drifting steadily down toward the rapids. The bell signals 
"go ahead," and the Indian pilot, who has come aboard from a skiff, takes 
supreme command at the wheel. A little while later and we are in the vortex ; 
the current grows swift and swifter; all the mighty outpouring of the stream 
is pent up in a single channel ; all the bosom of the river is covered with reefs 
and rocks. The boat heads this way and that ; down we plunge, and onward 
straight toward a rocky islet ! Which side? Just as destruction seems im- 
minent, the vessels sweeps round to the right, and shoots like an arrow 
between two sunken ledges. We are through, and can look back up the 
watery hill we have descended, and admire the courage of the men who first 
navigated this wonderful channel. 

The once marvellous Victoria Bridge comes into view. In a few moments 
we steam beneath it and swing around the dangerous shoals that bar the ter- 
minus of deep-water navigation, and heading up-stream are speedily at the 
lock, within which, as the steamer rises to the upper level, the passengers are 
landed. In Montreal, an account of which is gi\'en elsewhere, the Windsor, 
stately and American-like, plays an important part in the pleasures of spend- 
ing a portion of each year upon the grand and changeless St. Lawrence. It 
is the memory of happy days in other years when the picture of care-free 
hours has included our warmest friends, the whole framed with the exquisite 
environment of the islands, which solaces us for the cold and cheerless days 
of winter which must intervene before we can again take up this ideal habit 
of life. All indications point toward a brilliant future for the island region 
and the tour of the river. 




CKESSON, ON THE ALLEGIIENIES, I'A. 



CRESSON. 

i^^^"^ IJRESSON, one of the most recently developed resorts for summer 
travel and residence and an especial favorite of Philadelphia, fur- 
nishes a complete contrast to that city's home-life at Cape May and 
Atlantic City. It is in Cambria County, Penn., on the Pennsylvania Railroad, 
and 15 miles southwest of Altoona, 102 miles east of Pittsburg, and 252 miles 
west by north of Philadelphia. It is on the crest of the Allegheny Mountains, 
at an elevation of 2,300 feet above tide-level, and is reached in eight hours 
from Philadelphia and four from Pittsburg. Beside the Mountain House and 
the public cottages, which have combined accommodations for about 1,200 
guests, the summit and sides of the mountains are dotted with tasteful 
residences. The air of the locality is the purest on the continent, and is a 
thorough antidote for malaria and hay-fever. The hotel is built on a wide 
plateau, of a mixed oriental and Queen Anne style of architecture, and is 
surrounded by extensive grounds laid out in the handsomest forms of landscape 
gardening. But a little back of the building is an attractive stretch of wood- 
land, through which one passes into the heart of the primeval forest, thickly 
studded with trees of enormous growth. Good roads have been cut through 
this forest land, one of v/hich, occupying the bed of the old Portage, furnishes 
an unusually romantic drive. The Portage, with its then inclined planes, was 
formerly used by the Pennsylvania Railroad in its wonderful climb over the 
mountains, and in its day was one of the engineering wonders of the con- 
tinent. Beyond the benefits of the air and the charm of the locality, Cresson 
has already achieved wide renown for the purity and medicinal properties of 
its numerous springs. These are of magnesia, alum, iron, and one that 
scientists have pronounced to be absolutely and faultlessly pure water. As 
a natural sanitarium Cresson is provided with all the requisites for coaxing 
robust health, restful recreation, and good fellowship, and its reputation grows 
daily wider and stronger. 



LEWISTOWN NARROWS. 

EWISTOWN, the capital of Mifflin County, Penn., is renowned in 
legend and history as the home of the famous Mingo Indian chief, 
Logan, who was converted to Christianity by Moravian mission- 
aries, and whose pathetic speech beginning: " I appeal to any white man to 





LEWI8TOWN NARROWS, PA, 



1/4 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

say if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry and he gave him not meat? " and 
closing: "Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one," is famiHar to every 
school-boy in the land. The neighborhood of the town abounds in natural 
curiosities, none of which are more interesting than the caves. Alexander's 
Ca\'e, in Kishicoquillas Valley, is full of stalactitic and stalagmitic formations, 
and preserves in solid shape through the summer the ice formed in winter; 
Hanewall's Cave, near McVeytown, is enormous in proportions, and contains 
calcareous concretions and much commercial saltpeter. Bevins's Cave is on 
the summit of a limestone ridge, and near it was a noted Indian mound, full 
of bones, pottery, war weapons, and arrow-heads, which was razed for the 
construction of the canal. Lewistown itself is on the left bank of the Juniata 
River, so famed in song and romance, was laid out in 1790, and incorporated 
in 1795, and contains two furnaces, tw^o tanneries, three flour-mills, two carriage 
factories, large boiler works, and numerous minor industries. There are six 
churches, three banks, an academy, several large hotels, and substantial county 
buildings. It is 60 miles from Harrisburg on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and 
controls a large trade. Population of Mifflin County, 1880, 17,508; of Lewis- 
town, 3,222. 

The Lewistown Narrows, which appear in the illustration, are formed by 
the Black Log Mountain on the south, and the Shade Mountain on the north, 
and are directly east of the town, and between it and Mifflin. As may be 
seen, the mountains rise abruptly from the river, and in many places attain a 
height of over 1,000 feet. A dense forest growth spreads over their sides, 
M'hich would give the gorge an appearance of deep gloom were it not for the 
weird contrast of lights and shadows when the sun pencils the verdure. With 
few exceptions the giant walls are unbroken, and between them the river 
flows as placidly as if it had never occasion to form its beautiful channel by 
erosive action. 



THE HORSESHOE CURVE. 

OON after leaving the city of Altoona, the tourist on the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad becomes aware by a peculiar motion of the train as 
well as the apparent down\\ard tendency of the surrounding 
scenery, that the locomotive has begun its marx'cllous feat of mountain climb- 
ing. The roadbed changes from the level to a grade of something overninety 
feet to the mile. As the train steadily ascends, the valley appears to sink and 




|{ii||iiiiuinii I iminu fii i in ii| 




176 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

the perspective, instead of narrowing by natural laws, seems to widen and 
deepen. New formations of scenery break upon the view at every glance. 
The valley becomes a gorge, and the cottages below diminish to mere specks 
on the green drapery of the mountain. Up and still upward the train pro- 
ceeds, till at Kittanning Point, 242 miles from New York, the road winds 
around a curve in a manner at once thrilling and bewildering, and at the same 
time suggestive of extreme engineering confidence and skill. The valley, 
along which the train has moved for six miles, then separates into two 
chasms, where nature seems to have said: "Thus far shalt thou go and no 
farther." But the mind of man has achieved a remarkable triumph over the 
material barrier; and by building a'great horseshoe shaped roadbed, carrying 
it over both chasms on a high embankment, and extending it around the 
enormous western wall, he has provided a way for the train to resume its 
singular transit. 

When the point of the curve depicted in the illustration is reached, the 
tourist has before him a unique delusion. The sides of the curve are parallel 
with each other, and many a wager has been laid upon the direction in which 
various trains are moving, for their actual course is directly opposite their ap- 
parent course. On entering the new pass the train continues its ascent through 
the very heart of the great dividing range of the continent. At Allegrippus 
the scene begins to change. The mountains seem to sink and the valleys rise. 
A rugged plane gradually gives way to mountain walls. Furnaces, mills, and 
cottages are disclosed. Evidences of vast mining operations are discovered 
just as the train rushes through a night-black tunnel, and a moment later the 
tourist is being whirled over the summit of the range, at an elevation of over 
2,000 feet above sea-level. Kittanning Point is named from a great Lidian 
path or trail, between Kittanning and the valley of the Delaware River, which 
crossed the mountain through this gorge. 



GREENWOOD LAKE. 

MONG the summer resorts which have become popular within a com- 
paratively recent period Greenwood Lake is one of the most at- 
tractive. The village is situated in Orange County, New York, but 
the lake, which is the principal attraction, lies partly in this county and partly 
in Passaic County, New Jersey. 

The lake is some ten miles long by one mile wide, and lies about 1,000 feet 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 177 

above the level of the sea. It has been called the miniature Lake George, 
and in picturesque beauty is a close rival of the most famous lakes either in 
this country or in Europe. .The water is deep and clear and is also quite cold. 
Fish of various kinds, including bass and pickerel, abound and are easily 
taken. There are excellent facilities for sailing aiid bathing. Those who 
prefer the woods to the water will find beautiful walks and charming retreats 
upon the hills and mountains by which the lake is surrounded. Only two or 
three miles from the lake is a picturesque glen and a series of cascades of 
remarkable beauty. Wild flowers and ferns abound and several species of 
game birds find their home in this secluded region. 

Several hotels furnish ample accommodations for visitors. Those who 
prefer to " camp out " can find plenty of suitable and attractive places either 
by the shore, or upon the small islands which the lake contains. The distance 
from New York is only forty-nine miles. The trip is made by the New York 
and Greenwood Lake division of the Erie Railroad as far as Sterling Forest. 
From this point, a distance of five miles, the visitor is conveyed by a steamer, 
belonging to the same corporation, to the village, which is located at the head 
of the lake. The scenery for nearly the whole distance along the line of the 
raih'oad is very fine and the sail on the lake at the close of the trip is both 
charming and refreshing. The town has a permanent population of about 
250, and is supplied with churches, schools, and stores. It also contains a 
sanitarium for poor children of Newark, New Jersey, maintained by benevo- 
lent people, where each summer many hundreds of the little ones are given a 
brief period of unalloyed pleasure. 




CONEY ISLAND. 

ITHIN the past few years Coney Island has become one of the most 
famous summer resorts in the United States and it now has but 
few equals in any part of the world. In point of area it is a small 
island, being only about five miles in length with an average width of less 
than one mile. It lies in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Long Island, from which 
it is separated by a small creek, and forms a part of the township of Graves- 
end, in Kings County, N. Y. It was discovered by Henry Hudson in Septem- 
ber, 160Q, and was the first point in the State of New York at which Euro- 
peans landed. The island was then inhabited by Indians. Since its discovery 



J/S THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

it has been considerably diminished in size by the encroachments of the sea. 
As lately as 1800 quite a proportion of the land was under cultivation and 
the farmers were greatly troubled with rabbits and foxes. In 1819a hotel 
was built, but, with everything else that was movable, it was swept away by 
a violent storm in 1821, The retreating tide left the island almost entirely 
barren and in that condition it has remained until the present day. With 
the exception of only about sixty acres the surface is almost entirely covered 
with sand. 

R)' the \-ear 1830 the island had become so well known as a pleasure resort 
that a turnpike road was built to connect it with Brooklyn. A stage, running 
once a day, was soon put on and a steamboat line from New York was 
opened. The first horse railroad to the island was built about 1865 and a 
road for steam cars was soon afterward constructed. By these means the 
number of visitors was considerably increased, but nothing like a general in- 
terest on the part of the vast population in the vicinit}' was awakened until 
1874. Up to this time only a small portion of the island, at the extreme west 
end, was used. There were a small number of restaurants and bathing-houses 
of cheap construction, but no fine buildings had been erected and the beach 
was almost wholly bare and desolate. 

]^ut in 1874 the Prospect Park and Coney Island Railroad was opened, 
hotels w^ere built, and many and varied attractions were added by capitalists 
who invested their money liberally and, as the event proved, wisely, in order 
to make the island a really popular summer resort. During the succeeding 
four years there was an almost marvellous change. Many very large and 
costly hotels were erected, hundreds of fine bathing-houses built, and places 
of amusement of various kinds and in large numbers w^ere also constructed. 
This was the beginning of an era of great and permanent prosperity for the 
island. Popular interest has appeared to increase year by year, and multi- 
tudes of people from New York, Brooklyn, Jersey City, Newark, and other 
cities in the vicinity visit the island many times during the summer. 

There are various reasons why Coney Island should be an exceedingly 
popular summer resort. It has a magnificent beach extending five miles 
along the Atlantic. The undertow^ is slight and there is a very gradual in- 
crease in the depth of the \\ater. Consequently, it is one of the safest jjlaces 
for bathing which can be found along the coast. The island is also ver)' easy 
of access from several great centres of population. It is distant only fi\'c miles 
from Brooklyn, and ten miles from New York. There are several railroads 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 179 

and steamboats by which it can be reached quickly and cheaply. There is 
room enough for all, and attractions which will gratify every taste from the 
most fastidious to the least critical. Here " the rich and the poor meet to- 
gether," not exactly on terms of social equality, of course, but the same views 
are open to both, the air is as fresh and cool, and the sea is as inviting to the 
one class as it is to the other. It would be hard to say which of the two 
classes obtains the greatest degree of enjoyment. 

From Prospect Park in Brooklyn there is a magnificent drive, some 200 
feet wide and five miles long, to the Concourse on the island. This Con- 
course is a broad, asphalt roadway a mile in length, under the control of the 
city of Brooklyn and maintained for a drive and walk. Near this drive are 
two immense iron piers, which extend some 1,000 or 1,200 feet into the ocean. 
They are each about 50 feet wide, but near the outer end one is about 85 and 
the other 125 feet in width. These piers furnish excellent places for prome- 
nades, open-air concerts, and restaurants. They also accommodate bathers 
and furnish landing places for the numerous steamers which every pleasant 
day in summer bring many thousands of people to the island. 

Among the numerous hotels on Coney Island 'are several of immense size. 
The Manhattan Hotel faces the ocean for 600 feet, and at high tide is only 
400 feet from the water. The Brighton Beach Hotel has about the same 
ocean frontage, is 525 feet wide and five stories high. Near this hotel is a 
celebrated race-course, where horse races are held almost daily during the 
warm season. 

The four divisions of Coney Island, known as Manhattan Beach, Brighton 
Beach, West Brighton, and the West End, are connected by carriage roads, 
and also by railway. The former is at the eastern extremity and is by far 
the most aristocratic portion. West Brighton is the most popular with the 
masses. Here is located one of the observatories which attracted much 
attention at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and by means of which 
an elevation of 300 feet may be attained. From this point magnificent views 
of the ocean, and of the many cities and towns in the vicinity, may be secured. 
Here, too, is the famous hotel which is built in the form of an immense 
elephant. There is also an aquarium, and many other objects of interest on 
this portion of the island. Considering the many and varied attractions at 
Coney Island, perhaps it is not strange, though it certainly appears so at first 
thought, that each summer the railroads alone carry more than 2,000,000 
people to this beautiful resort. 




LONG BRANCH. 

MONG the fashionable seaside resorts of the United States there is 
none which has a higher standing than Long Branch. The great 
popularit)' of the place is due to numerous causes. Among them 
may be named its beautiful location; its splendid beach; the fine drives; the 
beauty of the adjoining inland region ; the elegance of the buildings and 
grounds, upon which v^ast sums of money liave been expended; the excellent 
facilities for reaching it from New York, I'hiladelphia, and other cities, and 
from numerous smaller places; and the ample accommodations which are 
provided for all visitors. It long ago became a favorite resort for the 
wealthy and fashionable classes of the eastern portion of the country. It is 
also visited by thousands of people of more limited means. 

Long Branch is situated in Monmouth County, N. J., on the coast of the 
Atlantic Ocean. It lies about thirty miles south of New York City. Its name 
is said to have been derived from a brook upon which the Indians formerly 
had important fisheries. The original settlement w^as made quite early in the 
history of the country, but it did not become prominent for a long period. 
It was located about a mile from the shore, but the newer and fashionable 
portion of the town has been built upon the bluff, about twenty feet in height, 
which rises almost directly from the beach. This bluff is covered with vege- 
tation and the landscape is very attractive. The presence of many large trees 
adds greatly to the beauty of the scene, and to the comfort of the summer 
residents. The beach which, within the town limits, extends more than four 
miles, is one of the finest in the country, and the bathing is unsurpassed. A 
fine carriage road upon the bluff gives a beautiful drive extending for several 
miles and constantly keeping near the sea. Those who are particularly in- 
terested in fast horses will find Monmouth Park a centre of attraction. The 
course, which cost a cjuarter of a million dollars, is ver}' fine and races are 
frequent and exciting. 

Some of the finest hotels and many of the most elegant and costly summer 
residences in the country, are found at Long Branch. The grounds around 
many of these residences are fitted up in magnificent style. The place is 
divided into several sections, known as North Long Branch, Long Branch, 
Long Branch City, West Long Branch, West End, Deal Beach, and Elberon. 
Each section has post office facilities, but all lie within the corporate limits 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. i8i 

of Long Branch. Several other famous watering places are only a few miles 
away. Long Branch has churches, banks, and newspapers. Its permanent 
population is about 6,500, and it has a summer population of from 25,000 to 
30,000. 




ASBURY PARK AND OCEAN GROVE. 

LTHOUGH a comparatively new town, Asbury Park has become 
one of the most famous of our sea-side resorts. It is located in 
Monmouth County, New Jersey, fifty-one miles from New York 
Cit)', and five miles south of Long Branch. It is about seventy miles from 
Philadelphia, and is easily reached from all prominent points. 

It seems hard to believe that as lately as 1869 the region now embraced 
within the corporate limits of this celebrated resort was an unbroken wilder- 
ness. But such is the fact. In that year Mr. James A. Bradley, of New York 
City, purchased a tract of land one mile square, for which he paid $90,000. 
Here he determined to found a strictly temperance town. All the deeds 
which he gave prohibited the manufacture and sale of intoxicants on the 
property thus conveyed. The penalty of violation of this clause was to be 
the reversion of the land to the seller. The strict enforcement of temper- 
ance principles has been continued to the present time. 

In 1872 the place was incorporated as a borough and its government dele- 
gated to seven commissioners, three of whom were to be non-residents. Its 
affairs have been wisely managed, the town has made a rapid growth, and is 
in a prosperous condition. 

Asbury Park has an excellent beach of white sand. There is a fine drive- 
way by the shore and a plank promenade, a mile or more in length, extends 
along the ocean front. It is furnished with seats and has several pavilions 
extending into the water. The surf bathing is good and there is a beautiful 
grove close by. The place is well laid out, with wide streets, has gas works, 
is supplied with excellent water, maintains a good fire department, and has a 
complete system of sewerage. 

The 250 hotels and boarding houses furnish ample accommodations for 
the thousands of visitors who from all parts of the country come to Asbury 
Park every season. Some of these hotels are among the best in the country, 
and there are large numbers of fine private residences. There are churches 
of different denominations, three public halls, good schools, several news- 



i82 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

papers, published daily during the season, and two national banks. There 
are also manufactories of various kinds which do considerable business. 

Within the limits of Asbury Park are several lakes, which are quite pretty 
in themselves and which furnish the best of facilities for boating and fishing. 
It would seem that, as far as outward things are concerned, everything needed 
to make one happy could here be found. The climate is remarkably fine and 
attracts a large number of winter visitors, for whose accommodation some of 
the hotels are kept open during that season. The population numbers about 
3,000 during the winter, and from 25,000 to 30,000 in the summer months. 

Just south of Asbury Park, and separated from it only by a small lake 
over which two pretty iron bridges have been built, lies another, and an 
equally noted, resort named Ocean Grove. A single railroad station accom- 
modates both places, and in the attractions which they present and the prin- 
ciples upon which they are governed the two are very nearly alike. 

Twenty years ago the present site of Ocean Grove was covered with a 
growth of pine trees. Thinking it would be a good place for their out-of- 
door services some Methodists made a small clearing and started a camp- 
meeting. The fine beach and pleasant surroundings attracted many people of 
this and of other denominations, and the place soon became not only a centre 
for great religious meetings, but also a famous pleas'ure resort. 

Ocean Grove is controlled by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Associa- 
tion. Like its neighbor, Asbury Park, its affairs arc managed upon strictly 
temperance principles. The sale of intoxicants within one mile of the town 
is absolutely prohibited, and there are various other restrictions designed to 
promote the quiet and prosperity of the people. A tabernacle has been 
erected which is said to accommodate 10,000 people, and has additional 
buildings capable of seating about 5,000. Abundant provision is made for 
recreation as well as for devotional exercises, and the place is as truly a plea- 
sure resort, of the highest and best kind, as it is a centre of religious activit}-. 

There are a large number of hotels and hundreds of cottages, while multi- 
tudes of people live in tents during their stay at this unique resort. The 
streets are wide and at night are lighted by electricity, artesian wells supply 
plenty of water of the purest quality, and the sanitary conditions are excel- 
lent. There is an ocean frontage of a mile, with all facilities for bathing, and 
the beautiful lakes in the vicinity are pleasant resorts for those who delight 
in boating or fishing. The permanent population is about 1,200 and the 
summer visitors number some 20,000 to 30,000. 




ATLANTIC CITY. 

TLANTIC CITY is one of the most popular ocean resorts in the 
United States, and is especially notable as possessing exceptional 
;J advantages as a winter resort as well. Man)- eminent ph}-sicians in 
Northern cities who have been in the habit of recommending Florida, Colorado, 
and California to their pulmonary patients for climatic relief, are now urging 
the advantages of Atlantic City during the winter n'.onths ; and hundreds of 
the leaders and followers of Fashion in New York and Philadelphia run down 
there for a few weeks of rest and recuperation. A number of the hotels are 
kept open the year round, and the rest are the earliest to open and the last to 
close for the strictly summer season. The resort is thus rapidly becoming 
the American Brighton and Margate, and like them its seasons attain a 
" height " twice a year, during the usual summer weeks of sea-side loitering 
and in the months of March and April. 

Atlantic City is situated in Atlantic County, N. J., on Absecum Beach, a 
sandy island extending from Absecum Inlet on the north to Great Egg 
Harbor Inlet on the south, ten miles long, and nearly one mile wide, and 
separated from the mainland by a strait locally known as "Thoroughfare." 
It is sixty miles southeast of Philadelphia, with which it is connected b\- three 
railroads, two broad gauge and one narrow gauge, and is reached in ninety 
minutes from the Quaker City, at an ordinary cost of $r for the round trip, 
and of fifty cents for numerous special excursions. The railroads maintain 
several excursion houses at the southern end of the island for trip or day 
tourists, and there are ninety-four hotels, beside many cottages and board- 
ing houses, furnishing an aggregate accommodation for 40,000 time or sea- 
son guests. The city was incorporated 1854, has Roman Catholic, Protestant 
Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyterian, and Friends' churches, and 
publishes regular and season newspapers. 

The long avenues, named after the different oceans, stretching up and 
down the island, and the cross streets, bearing the names of the various 
States in the American Union, and running down to the water's edge, are all 
delightful drives. The sandy roads are kept well sprinkled, hard as concrete, 
and free from dust; and in the early morning and late afternoon are filled 
with phaetons, victorias, and larger vehicles of the richest style. At low tide 
the beach is a most attractive place for driving, and the horses go prancing 



i86 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

and pattering over the hard sand just out of reach of the ^\•aves for miles 
along the coast. At low tide, also, the adventurous walk out in the wake of 
the surf to a distance that would surprise them could they accurately measure 
it w^hen the tide was full. The bathing is superb, there are ample facilities 
for the little folks to disport in the sand to their heart's content, and bathing 
and playing are adequately guarded against danger. A striking feature of 
Atlantic City as a seaside resort is the large number of private cottages, 
owned chiefly by the business men of Philadelphia, and occupied by their 
families through and beyond the season. Permanent population, 1870, 
1,043; 1880,5,477; 1885,7,942; 1889,10,150. 




CAPE MAY CITY. 

JAPE MAY CITY, a sea-side rival of Atlantic City, and possessing 
many attractive features of its own, is built upon the extreme point 
of the cape from which it takes its name, the southern end of the 
State of New Jersey. It is eighty-one miles from Philadelphia, and is reached 
therefrom by the West Jersey Railroad, operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad 
company, in a little over two hours, or from Camden, N. J., in one hour and 
fifty minutes. The county, cape and city, derive their name from Cornelius 
Jacobus May, a navigator in the service of the Dutch West India Company, 
who visited Delaware Bay in 1623. The territory embraced in the county 
was purchased from the Indians in 1630 by a compan)' of Dutch colonists, 
whose deed is still preserved in the archives of the State of New York at 
Albany. A local tradition asserts that William Penn, on his voyage to the 
Delaware River in 1682, landed at this point, and was charmed with its attrac- 
tiveness as a bathing place. For more than fifty years it has possessed a 
wide-spread reputation as a summer resort, and within that time has experi- 
enced changes and improvements that onl)- its intrinsic worth could justify. 

Among the attractions peculiar to the place are the drives to Cold Spring 
and Diamond Beach, where thousands of sparkling pebbles, known as Cape 
May diamonds, are found. Cape May Lighthouse stands within the limits of 
the city, and across the waters of Delaware Bay at Cape Henlopen is its t\\in 
light, the two defining in the darkest night the entrance to the bay and the 
river. The Cape May Athletic Club and the Cape May Driving Club furnish 
exciting ant! gentlemanly sporting features, to which are added in "the 



i88 THE Gi^EAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

season," regattas, concerts, balls, and the choicest social diversions. Within 
a few minutes' ride by rail is Cape May Point, a delightful suburb of the older 
city. The Point is charmingly situated, and, as its name indicates, is the ex- 
treme southern end of the New Jersey coast. With Delaware Bay on the 
west, and the Atlantic Ocean on the east and south, the cape presents ^\•hat 
is justly considered not only the best but the safest bathing-ground on the 
entire coast of the United States. Thousands of bathers, of all ages and 
both sexes, sport in the waters, while white sails and puffing steamers glide 
by, in plain sight of the beach, to all parts of the world. A magnificent 
drive, fifty feet wide, extends along the whole sea front, flanked on the ocean 
side by a broad promenade ten feet wide, that sweeps along in graceful curves 
for a distance of nearly two miles, and is as smooth as a ball-room floor. 

The principal avenues of the city are covered with shells from the sea, 
well rolled, sprinkled, and kept free from dust. The hotels and cottages — 
there are thirty-one of the former with accommodations for 6.000 guests — are 
in close proximity to the unsurpassed beach, and the latter are so numerous 
and tasteful as to justify the popular name of " The Summer City by the Sea." 
Though well-known and appreciated long before society demanded sumptu- 
ous ways and means of combining pleasure and recreation at seashore and 
on mountain annually. Cape May City has gradually become a summer suburb 
of Philadelphia, to which the wealth, culture, and refinement of the world are 
made welcome. Permanent population, 1889, 2,000. 




OLD POINT COMFORT. 

LD POINT COMFORT is not only one of the oldest hygienic 
resorts in the United States, but it is one of the very few old ones 
\vh(xse popularity has not been suffered to wane with time. Its 
climate is unsurpassed for salubrity, and it possesses a marked advantage in its 
equability. The averages in thermometer range during a period of ten }'ears 
were 48°, 52°, and 63° in spring; 60°, 74°, and ^6° in summer; 70°, 59°, and 46° 
in autumn ; and 45°, 44°, and 42° in winter. This record shows an absence of 
sudden and depressing changes in temperature which commends the resort to 
the really sick, the invalid, and the convalescent. It is, too, for this reason, 
a favorite stopping-place for invalids seeking recuperation in the balmy 
groves and beside the tropical waters of Florida, as well as those returning 



iil!llliliiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiw>»»ii>w>i'»'""'>'W!iiiii 



liiiiM^^^^^^^^^ 




igo THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

therefrom with a dread of encountering the weather of northern months. 
Boating, fishing, bathing, and the delights of Lynhaven oysters, may be en- 
joyed there ahnost the year round, and with the choicest, safest, and most 
pleasurable accompaniments. 

Old Point Comfort, as the place was generally known before the civil war, 
or Fortress Monroe, as it has since been designated, is 14 miles from Norfolk, 
Va., and from the historic Hampton, and may be reached by steamers from 
New York, Washington, Richmond, Norfolk, and Yorktown, and from Balti- 
more by steamers connecting with through trains from New York, Philadel- 
phia, and all northern points. It is built on a sandy projection from the main- 
land on the western side of Chesapeake Bay, and its great hotel — the Hygeia 
— stands upon the beach at the head of the broad and substantial landing con- 
structed by the Federal government. The unique defensive work, the only 
fortification in the country denominated a fortress, built in 1 8 16-19 ^^ ^ cost 
of nearly $3,000,000, and designed by the French engineer, Lieut. -General 
Bernard, for a fortified post like those of European countries rather than a 
fort as Americans understand the word, is close to the hotel, and ofTers many 
attractions to the tourist. It was the first landing-place in Virginia of the 
famous Army of the Potomac and the point of its departure for home four 
years later. It contains the chief artillery school of the army, and a notable 
war museum, and has a grand military band that plays morning and evening 
at guard mount and dress parade. The National Soldiers' Home, the National 
Normal and Agricultural College, and the quaint old town of Hampton, are a 
few miles away by an admirable shell road ; and Norfolk, Portsmouth, and 
Newport News, the scene of the momentous fight between the " iron-clads " 
Monitor (Union) and Merrimack (Confederate) in 1862, are points of destina- 
tion for pleasant sails. From the balcony of the hotel or its two miles of sun- 
shaded verandas, a grand view of Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay is 
obtained, and in the evening the glimmering lights of the lighthouses on Cape 
Henry and Cape Charles may be discerned. There is a constant panorama 
of vessels of all classes and every maritime nation passing to and fro in the 
ofifing; and nearly every day brings new scenes to divert the attention and 
relieve the eye. The evenings are one enjoyable round of social festivity. 
Army and navy officers in full or tasteful undress uniform mingle among the 
belles of the North and South, and add a vast charm to the german and other 
popular diversions. Life there seems a dream that, like all happy dreams, 
ends far too soon. 



THE WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS. 




HE WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, known also as " The Old 
White," and "The Greenbrier" Springs, are located in Greenbrier 
'J County, West Virginia. This county is not far from the central 
portion of the State measuring from north to south, and it joins the State of 
Virginia on the east. The Springs are easily reached from Richmond, a dis- 
tance of about 227 miles, by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. They are 
also readily accessible from other large cities, there being excellent railroad 
communication with all principal points throughout the country. 

The town is located in a valley which lies among high and beautiful moun- 
tains which are only a few miles away from the Springs. The valley itself is 
nearly 2,000 feet above the level of the sea. It forms an immense lawn upon 
which the grass grows luxuriantly and which contains hundreds of beautiful 
forest trees. Among the mountains in the vicinity are Kate's, and Alleghany, 
the latter a large and beautiful peak, and the Greenbrier range. The scenery, 
both in the immediat^e region of the Springs and as far as the eye can reach, 
is extremely beautiful. All around Nature has been lavish in the distribution 
of her charms. 

The medicinal spring, which has become famous the world over, was prob- 
ably discovered in 1778. It is certain that its waters have been used with 
most gratifying results ever since that date. For about a century the town 
has been a fashionable resort as well as a sanitarium. Large numbers of cele- 
brated people gather here every summer. They come from various portions 
of the country, but the South, is, as would naturally be expected, the most 
fully represented. On account of the wealth and high position of a large 
part of its patrons, as well as for the medicinal character of the waters, this 
region has been styled " the Saratoga of the South." 

The spring yields about thirty gallons of water per minute and the quan- 
tity is remarkably uniform during all seasons. It is subject to no special 
modification either by excessive rainfall or by long-continued drought. 
Neither does its temperature change, in summer or winter, from 62°. The 
water is used in a large class of diseases and is remarkably efficacious. This 
is especially true in cases of rheumatism, diseases of the liver, dyspepsia and 
malaria. The ex-ternal use of the wa-ter is also highly beneficial in the treat- 



192 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

ment of skin diseases. While the water acts as a cathartic and diuretic, its 
special excellence over the waters of other mineral springs is seen in its im- 
mediate and powerful effects as an alterative. 

The climate in the region of the springs is remarkably fine and does much 
for the restoration to health of the invalids and for preserving the health of 
the well. The mercury seldom rises much above 8o° in the summer, and dur- 
ing the hottest weather the nights are cool. The air is very clear and in- 
vigorating, which, with the moderate temperature, makes out-of-door exercise 
very pleasant as well as highly beneficial. 

The hotel accommodations are ample and there are numerous cottages for 
those who wish to avoid the excitement and fatigue incident to fashionable 
life at a crowded watering place. 

The White Sulphur is located near the centre of a region remxarkable for 
the number, variety, and importance of its medicinal springs. The Hot 
Springs, located in the Warm Spring Valley, some thirty miles north, prove 
very beneficial in many diseases. The temperature of the water at some of 
these springs reaches i io°. At only a short distance there are other springs 
in which the temperature of the water is only 50°. A few miles from these 
springs are what are known as the Warm Springs. They lie in a beautifu»l 
valley, nearly 1,000 feet below the surrounding region. The temperature of 
the water is 98°. The quantity of water yielded by these springs is immense. 
The water is used both for drinking and bathing and has effected man)' re- 
markable cures. From this point the Healing Springs are only a few miles 
distant. They are four in number and are most beautifully located. The 
temperature of the waters is 85°, and they fiow throughout the year. It is 
claimed that both in the constituents revealed by chemical analysis of the 
water and in the effects of its use these springs are equal to some of the most 
famous springs of Germany and of this country. The water is us'ed internally 
and for bathing. 

Some si.xteen miles east of the White Sulphur Springs are the Sweet 
Springs, and the Sweet Chal}'beate Springs. The water of the Sweet Springs 
has a temperature of ^1° and it is strongly impregnated with carbonic acid. 
Its use is said to be eminently beneficial in cases of rheumatism and neural- 
gia. The Sweet Chalybeate Springs are two in number, varying principally 
in the proportions of iron which they contain. The temperature of the 
water is from 75° to 79°. The quantit}- of water }'ielded b}- these springs is 
very great. Like that of the other springs the waters are used both inter- 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 193 

nal!\- and externally. About forty miles southwest of the White Sulphur 
Springs are the Red Sulphur Springs, also celebrated for the curative effects 
of the waters. They are located in Monroe County, West Virginia, and have 
been famed for half a century, but until recently were not largely visited on 
account of the difficulty of reaching them. This objection has been removed 
by the construction of a fine carriage road from Lowell Station. The springs 
are beautifully located in a valley lying several hundred feet below the road 
by which the traveller winds around the mountains on his journey thither. 
Reaching the valley the visitor finds two springs issuing from marble cisterns, 
some ten feet below the surrounding surface. Descending a series of steps 
he reaches the springs and finds himself under a beautiful pavilion built in 
the shape of a Greek temple. The water contains phosphorus as well as 
sulphur, and is said to be a specific remedy for consumption and diseases of 
a similar nature. With the exception of the Eaux-Bonnes in the Pyrenees, 
no similar spring is known in the world. 

In the same region as those which have been mentioned are numerous 
other springs of lesser note, but many of them having quite a degree of local 
popularity, their waters proving very useful in the treatment of diseases of 
various kinds. The natural scenery around some of these springs is also 
beautiful. Both on account of the number and the valuable character of the 
springs which it contains, this section has been very properly called " The 
Spring Region " of this portion of the United States. 



JEKYL ISLAND. 




LTHOUGH belonging to a private corporation, this new, yet famous, 
resort is entitled to a brief description. Its intrinsic charms and 
the unique principles upon which it is managed, combine to make 
it an object of popular interest. 

Jekyl Island is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, about eight miles from 
Brunswick, Georgia, itself not unknown to fame. The town was laid out in 
1735 by no less a personage than General Oglethorpe, and under one of its 
oak trees, which is still standing, the illustrious preachers John Wesley and 
George Whitefield delivered some of their powerful discourses. The Island, 
too, was noted in " the olden time," not, however, for the eminence of its 
settlers or its visitors, but for the high quality and great value of its cotton 



194 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

crop. Here a large quantity of the long-fibre Sea Island cotton was produced 
with great profit to the owners of the soil. The demand for this grade of 
cotton hav^ing largely decreased, and the plantations being somewhat difificult 
to manage under the conditions which now prevail, the islands which were 
formerly devoted to this crop have been largely given over to other purposes. 

Early in 1886 an association of wealthy gentlemen purchased Jekyl Island, 
with the house and live stock then upon it, for $125,000, and formed the Jek}'l 
Island Club to control the property. A large part of the members were 
Northern men of wealth and leisure who wished a winter resort which in every 
respect should be the equal of Newport as a place of residence in summer. 
After the purchase was effected an elegant hotel was built at a cost of about 
$60,000 and various improvements in the appearance and condition of the 
property were made. The number of members of the club is limited to 100, 
and the annual dues of each are $100. In the spring of 1889, there were 
about seventy-five members, and the price of admission had advanced to $4,- 
500. Members are allowed to bring their families, but are obliged to pay for 
their board. A number of fine cottages have been erected for members of 
the club, and a large building for their sixty employees. 

The island is about ten miles long and two-and-a-half miles wide. Game 
had been carefully preserved by the former owners for at least a century, and 
quail, woodcock, and snipe, abound. Wild turkeys are also found, and there 
are a few deer, and several hundred wild hogs. The ocean front is of fine, 
white sand. It is quite wide and furnishes an excellent driveway. There are 
also the best of facilities for sea bathing. On the inland shore is a large and 
prolific oyster bed from which bivalves of the finest quality are obtained. 
The fishing is very fine and the opportunities for yachting are unsurpassed. 
Many members of the club are owners of yachts, and numerous fine craft of 
this description may be found here during the season. The island contains 
several ponds, some of which are fresh water, and quite a quantity of oak and 
pine timber, which adds to the beauty of the landscape and furnishes shelter 
for game. 

As the island is farther north than the fever line and receives breezes from 
both the land and sea, its climate is very pleasant and healthful. There is 
none of the lassitude which affects the residents of heated regions, and the 
place is free from mosquitoes and various other ills which prove serious draw- 
backs to many popular resorts. Grounds have been laid out for the \arious 
games, including polo; gas has been introduced, and an abundant supply of 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 195 



pure water is obtained from an artesian well. In fact, everything needed for 
the comfort and pleasure of the members of the club seems to have either 
appeared naturally or been added by man, and we can easily believe the 
statement of a visitor who asserts that Jekyl Island " has not its equal, north 
or south." 




ST. JOHN'S RIVER. 

HE ST. JOHN'S RIVER in Florida is in many respects one of 
the most attractive and interesting streams on the entire conti- 
nent. It is in every characteristic a perfect antipode of the ro;:r- 
ing, rushing, city fringed and commerce-ladened St. Lawrence; a river of 
surprising, enchanting beau- 
ty; a river of peace and 
quietness. It has its rise in 
Lake Washington, between 
latitude 28° and 29° north, 
and longitude 80° and 81° 
west, and empties into the 
Atlantic Ocean between 
latitude 30° and 31° north 
and longitude 81° and 82° 
west. From its source just 
below the northern bound- 
ary of Brevard County, it 
soon forms and maintains 
for a long distance the 
boundary between Volusia 
and Orange Counties; 
above Lake George it flows 
on the east of Clay and in the heart of the orange region. 

Putnam Counties and on the west of St. Johns and a portion of Duval Coun- 
ties, and finds its outlet in the latter. From source to mouth it passes through 
numerous lakes, among them the cluster of which Lake Monroe is chief, and 
then through Lake George, the largest in the State. Between Palatka on 
the south and Jacksonville on the north, it spreads out over a much greater 
area, and after a considerable narrowing at its turning point near Jackson- 




196 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

ville it again widens on its eastward flow to the ocean. At Jacksonville, the 
first city below its mouth, it has a width of 2,390 feet and a mean rise and 
fall of one foot, thence to its source it is irregular in width, depth, and cur- 
rent, but in\'ariably clear and always attractive. 

The steamboat trip up the river begins at Jacksonville. At Picolata a 
stoppage is made to let' off passengers who desire to reach St. Augustine by 
the inside route, and such are conveyed across the narrow strip of country in 
stages. The first place of consequence at which the boat stops is Mandarin, 

eleven miles beyond Jack- 
sonville, and famous as 
containing the valuable 
orange grove of Mrs. Har- 
riet Beecher Stowe. Her 
house is surrounded by 
some magnificent live 
oaks, and the grove lies 
just back of it. Between 
M a n d a r i n and Lake 
George are man}' settle- 
ments, all of exceeding 
beauty and all containing 
orange groves. They con- 
sist, generally, of a long 
wharf, a freight house, a 
hotel or two, a church, 

THE lovers' \V.\I,K, r.RF.EN COVE SPRING 1 i i • 

, . i.r.ix ._^ \L MKiiNL,, perhaps, and several pri- 

vate residences, all built of wood and painted white. Among them are Mag- 
nolia, Hibernia, Picolata, Green Cove Springs, and Palatka. The two latter 
are the most important. Green Cove Springs derives its n.ame from a large 
sulphur spring in its midst, and is a most charming place. Numerous paths 
have been cut through its wealth of forest, ever swaying with its parasitic 
drapery, and hither hie the young and romantic sojourners of Jackson\'iIle 
for a season of quiet communion with tropical nature and themselves. Pa- 
latka is the largest town on the river except Jacksonville, and is noted nlike 
for its comforts as a winter resort and for its manufactures of moss into stuf- 
fing for mattresses and cushions. Large quantities of vanilla leaves, from a 
ground plant that grows wild in P'lorida, and when dried emits a delicious 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 197 



perfume, are also prepared here for use as an adulterant and a scent in the 
manufacture of tobacco. Lake George is apparently twenty miles long by 
about twelve broad. Its surface is dappled at the edges by vast irregular 
fields of lilypads. As the steamer passes onward, countless ducks swarm up 
from among these pads and blacken the sky in all directions, and thousands 
more, in no wise alarmed at the passage of the boat, sit like black dots among 
the broad, green leaves as far on every side as the eye can discern. 

After the boat has made the passage of the lake, it enters a portion of the 
river averaging from 50 to 
1 50 feet in width. The lux- 
uriance of the vegetation is 
as astonishing to Northern 
eyes as the trees are novel. 
Palmettos spread out their 
immense vivid green, fan- 
like leaves; pines rear their 
lofty deep green heads, 
from the base of which long 
streamers of gray moss float 
on the wind ; cypresses, 
white and bare, except for 
ball-like clumps of mistle- 
toe or here and there a half 
-withered bunch of tiny 
leaves, and the inevitable ; 

moss between them. Vines ^t. david's path, green cove spring. 

grow everywhere, and along the banks trail in masses, sweeping the dark 
waters with their leafy fringe. Here are seen the swallow-tailed hawk, a 
rare and beautiful bird, with gray back and wings and snow-white breast, 
the water turkey, the white crane, the blue heron, and, in the warm months, 
any quantity of alligators of all ages sunning themselves on the river bank. 
The long moss which hangs in such profusion from the cypresses and live- 
oaks of the South is an epiphyte ; growing upon trees, but deriving no 
nourishment from them. Having no roots, it hangs in festoons and clus- 
ters as if thrown over the branches by accident. Its flowers are incon- 
spicuous, and their seeds are so light that they are blown easily through 
the foliage, vegetating wherever they fall. The parasite differs from the 




198 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 



epiphyte in that it not only grows upon the tree, but derives nourishment 
from it. The cabbage pahn or palmetto, so abundant in this locality, has a 
terminal bud somewhat resembling a cabbage. This is edible, but it is death 
to the tree to remove it. The branches of nriany of the large trees are envel- 
oped with the bright scarlet sprays of the air-plant, a species of tillandsia, 
and of the same family as the long gray moss, though so curiously different 
in general appearance. The scarlet tillandsia looks like a small pineapple 
and has a flower stock composed of branches like heads of rye, of the bright- 
est scarlet; the stamens are of a rich azure-blue, tipped with golden anthers. 

The dew accumulates 
within the trough-like 
leaves, and thus the plant 
is cared for during the 
dry season. This plant 
sometimes germinates 
upon a rail-fence or a 
dead tree, and fastening 
its t w i n e - 1 i k e roots 
around the wood, seems 
to thrive as well there as 
upon the t r u n k s and 
branches of living trees. 
The mistletoe, which 
grows upon the oaks of 
►*^'^'''^ England, is of parasitic 
origin, and also abounds 
in Florida. There are nearly a dozen specimens of the tillandsia family 
growing in this part of the State ; some of them very delicate and wax-like, 
climbing the trunks of trees and drooping in festoons from their branches. 
Flowering plants abound here in the greatest profusion, and frequentl}- old 
friends of the Northern hothouse are met with that seem out of place, yet 
are in their own homes. 

The course of the tourist lies through three more lakes, Dexter, Beresford,. 
and Monroe, and stoppages are made at Blue Spring, Volusia, Cabbage Bluff, 
Manhattan, Orange Mound, Sanford, Melonville, Enterprise, and other land- 
ings. As the entire trip is an exceedingly leisurely one, where haste is 
utterly out of the range of possibility, it should not be undertaken on limited 




ON THE OCKLAWAHA. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 199 



time. When one can be unconcerned in this respect, it will be found very- 
delightful to lay over a trip at any of the " towns " possessing a hotel, and 
after feasting on the prodigality of nature in her tropical attire in one place, 
re-embark for another. A short distance from the river bank on either side 
will be found the most beautiful parks and gardens, and the great groves of 
oranges for which Florida is famous the world over. One can scarcely tire 
of a tramp here. The trees seem greener, the flowers brighter, their perfume 
sweeter thaia elsewhere; it is a perfect paradise of bird-life. Here and there 
along the riverbank, be- 
side some tributary 
stream, or in the interior, 
will be found some noble 
live oak or cluster of 
pine, maple, or cypress, 
among whose moss-cov 
ered branches a wooden 
balcony or observator) 
has been built, where a 
deliciously lazy siesta 
may be spent. The Ock 
lawaha, which empties 
into the St. Johns, is a 
large stream, and a great 
resort for excursion par 
ties from Palatka and En- 
terprise, who charter a steamboat and run up it several miles for the purpose 
of shooting alligators and wild turkeys, fishing, and having a good time 
generally. 

No trip to this region is properly completed that does not comprise a 
glimpse of a Florida everglade. Beside the great tract in which the Semi- 
nole Indians fought the United States troops and some of their best strate- 
gists so many years, there are patches more accessible to the pleasure-seeker 
of to-day. Formed in a low, yet not absolutely level country, these magnifi- 
cent examples of semi-tropical richness strike the beholder with surprise. 
An experienced European traveller, after revelling among the beautiful open- 
ings which occur in the swampy scenery of the peninsula, wrote that " it 
seems a waste of nature's grandest exhibition to have these carnivals of 




A LIVE OAK OBSERVATORY. 



200 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

splendid vegetation occurring in isolated places, where it is but seldom they 
are seen by the appreciative eye of cultivated and intellectual observers." 
Nature, certainly, is here bountiful to a marvellous extent. Grand towering 
trunks, loaded with strange parasitic plants, and vines of enormous dimen- 

^ sions, like huge serpents, 
coiling around them, com- 
bined with the singular 
forms of aii'-plants that 
vie in color with the birds 
and insects that alight 
upon their blossom, s, 
comprise a scene mere 
frequently expanded in 
the m}^sterious labyrinths 
of dreamland than on the 
more tangible earth. 

As a permanent win- 
ter resort, Florida is 
without a peer. At St. 
Augustine and Jackson 
ville will be found some 




AN EVERGLADE. 



of the largest and handsomest hotels in the line of pleasure travel anywhere, 
while the smaller towns on the St. John's River are well provided ^ith 
hostelries that, if not of metropolitan proportions and accommodations, 
afford all necessary comforts, including, in general, good board. 



SCENES IN TEXAS AND THE 
GREAT SOUTHWEST. 




F the tourist chooses to visit the " Sunny South," instead of the far 
West or the still more distant regions at the northwestern corner 
of our national domain, he will be wise if he makes the journey 
during the cold season of the year. While to people who are acclimated, 
the heat of summer in the localities to which we now turn our attention is 
not extremely severe, the Northern man going there in the mid-summer 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 201 



months would find it somewhat enervating. But during other seasons it is 
generally agreeable. And the traveller from the North will at this time 
avoid the rigors of the severe climate which he would experience if he re- 
mained at home. Thus there will be a double gain in making the trip in the 
autumn or winter. The marked contrast, too, between the scenery at home 
and that which will come 
under the observation of 
the tourist in the South 
will add a charm to what 
would, aside from this ele 
ment of variety, be realh" 
delightful. 

The scenery of the re 
gion we now propose to 
enter is very different from 
that of the Northwest. 
While it is, in its finest lo- 
calities, far from tame, it 
is characterized by beauty 
far more than it is by 
grandeur. There is less 
of the sublime and the 
overpowering. Nature 
presents herself in quiet 
grace rather than in ma- 
jestic form. But pictu 
resque scenes abound, and 
their lovely images will 
permanently remain upon 
the mind of the beholder. 

For various reasons 
St. Louis will be the best 
point of departure. But before leaving the city and commencing our search 
for natural wonders we shall do well to pay a brief visit to one of the mar- 
vellous works of man, the steel arch bridge across the Mississippi River. 
The end spans of this wonderful structure are each 504 feet in length and 
the centre span measures 522 feet. It was built under the direction of Cap- 




A SCENE ON TilE MlSSlSSIl'l'I RIVER, SOUTH OF ST. LOUIS. 
On line of St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. 



202 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

tain James B. Eads, and is said to be the finest work of the kind in the world. 
Captain Eads had proposed to erect a suspension bridge at this point at an 
estimated expense of $600,000, but his plan was defeated on the ground that 
it involved too great an outlay. The present structure cost more than ten 
times as much, the exact expense being given as $6,536,729.99. 

Leaving St. Louis by one of the lines of the Missouri Pacific Railroad 
there will be many fine views of towns and cities as well as of rural scenes. 
For quite a distance, too, we shall be near the mighty Mississippi River, 




ON THE MKRAMEC — VIEW OF GRAND CASt^N, SULPHUR SPRINGS. 
On line of Missouri Pacific Railway. 

whose surface is dotted with sailing craft of numerous, and in many cases, 
very peculiar forms. 

When the Mcramcc River is reached the land becomes more broken, and 
the scenery far more picturesque and delightful. Not the least element of 
pleasure is found in the frequent changes of outline which are observed. 
Here, all is serenely beautiful. A little farther on the land has a more 
rugged appearance, telling of great convulsions of nature in the distant past. 
Hills of beautiful form are close to the track. The railroad seems, at some 
points, to dispute with them for the possession of the river bank. Pictu- 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 203 

resque valleys lie between the hills. Creeks come down from the higher 
land and through these valleys enter the river, while upon the hills a forest 
growth adds to the general beauty. 

Yet, while there is in general a subdued character to the scenery, there 
are portions of the route upon which we find more that is grand and inspir- 
ing. Rocks rising from near the river bank, and within a few feet of the 
track of the railroad, tower aloft like the spires of some great and desolate 
cathedral. The bold outlines, the rouq;h faces, as though huge rocks had 




THE MERAMEC — MOUTH OF KEIFFER CREEK. 
,On line of Missouri Pacific Railway. 

been piled one upon another by some mighty power, the air of coldness and 
desolation which pervades these great pinnacles relieved slightly by the few 
trees which appear upon their tops, combine to give to these peculiar towers 
a sombre yet majestic appearance. 

After the Meramec River is passed, the country presents a rugged and 
broken appearance. The hills become higher and more numerous and the 
contrasts in the scenery are more sharply defined. Entering the Iron Moun- 
tain region the elevations increase and the wildness of the scenery is intensi- 
fied. This section will also have an element of interest on account of its vast 



204 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 




CAlHliDKAL bflKES, ON IHE MLHAMh-C. 
(Jn line of Missouri Pacific Railway. 



. mineral wealth. The Iron Moun- 
tain is said to be both the largest 
and the purest body of iron ore yet 
discovered in any portion of the 
world. The peak rises to the height 
of 228 feet and its base has an area 
of 500 acres. The ore is very soft, 
of excellent quality, and yields 
from 55 to 69 per cent of iron. It 
also possesses a strong magnetic 
quality. A number of furnaces 
have been erected, and quite a vil- 
lage has grown up around them, 
and the various manufactories 
which have been established in 
their vicinity. There are several 
other large deposits of iron ore in 
this portion of the State. Of these 
the most important is the Pilot 
Knob Mountain. This is an im- 
mense deposit of ore which contains 
from 53 to 60 per cent of iron and 



with but small proportions of phosphorus, 
sulphur, or other deleterious matters. Dur- 
ing the past forty years about 1,000,000 
tons of ore have been taken from this point, 
and the supply is practically inexhaustible. 
Among the natural curiosities in the vicin- 
it}' is the famous Balance Rock, an enor- 
mous stone of which only a small portion 
touches the rock)' foundation upon which 
it stands. 

Leaving this interesting region the 
tourist passes to the table land in the 
southern portion of the State known as 
the Ozark Mountain section. The line of 
demarcation between the two regions is 




BAI ANCE KUCK, NEAR PILOT KNUb. 
( )n line of the Iron Mountain Route. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 205 



not very distinct and by some writers the Iron 
Mountains are classed with the Ozark. The 
name, however, is immaterial. The views \vill 
be numerous and picturesque. 

Near Arcadia, a station only three miles 
beyond Pilot Knob, is a most beautiful "shut 
in " of a creek which is walled by hills and for- 
ests in a picturesque manner. The traveller 
who turns from his course for a few hours to 
visit this scene of beauty will not have cause 
to regret the delay which it has occasioned. 

The line of travel is in the direction of 
Texas and passes entirely through the State 
of Arkansas. The objective point of the 
tourist in this State will be the town of Hot 





THE BLACK RIVER, ARKANSAS. 
St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway 



Springs, a locality widely 
famed for its wonderful medi- 
cinal waters, and annually 
visited by many thousands of 
people from this country and 
by considerable numbers from 
foreign lands. But there are 
many other places of interest 
on the route and the tourist 
- will be strongly tempted to 
a turn from his main course and 
spend a brief period in these 
charming retreats. 

Many beautiful scenes will 
be found on the Black River,, 



2o6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

sometimes called the Big Black River of Missouri and Arkansas. This beau- 
tiful stream has its rise in Iron County, Missouri. Until it reaches the Arkan- 
sas line its course is nearly south, but after entering the northern portion cf 




IN illL UZVKK Mol \1 AIN-,— nil si HI IN ON s roi I \ ( M I \ M\K \I4t U)IA 
On lint of St I ouis Iron Mountani and S-Utl.eri. 1,...1..„,. 



the State it takes a southwesterly direction, v.hich it maintains until it 
reaches the White River at Jacksonport, in Arkansas. The course of the 
river measures about 350 miles. Except in time of low water, steamers pass 
■up the river to a distance of 100 miles. The scenic attractions are in the 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 207 



line of beauty rather than in the direction of grandeur and magnificence. 
About many of the locaHties there is a quiet and restful charm which causes 
the visitor to Hnger long in their presence and leave them, at last, with regret. 

Another point of interest, and one which should certainly be visited, is 
Little Rock, the capital of the State and a great railroad centre. It is 
located in the central part of the State, on the Arkansas River, and some 250 
miles above its mouth. Up to this point the river flows through a low coun- 
try and during more than half the year is navigable for large steamers. Op- 
posite the city the river is about 1,200 feet wide. It soon grows narrower as 
we pass in the direction of 
its source, but for a distance 
of 300 miles it has sufficient 
volume to admit the passage 
of steamers of moderate size. 

The United States arse- 
nal, the State Capitol, and 
other public buildings will 
interest the visitor in his 
trips through the city, but 
the scenic attractions will 
be principally found at the 
bank of the river. The city 
is built upon a cliff, from 
which it takes its name, 
which rises about fifty feet 

above the water. This is ~ ~" ~-= 

the first rocky formation, '^"*''^'^ i-^''^' ^i^^mmn i wk, lii ill kock, akk 

.and the first high land reached in ascending from the mouth of the river. 
But farther up the stream the surface is broken and many fine views are 
obtained. Only about two miles above the city the Big Rock range rises 
sharply from the river to a height of 400 or 500 feet. Here are massive rocks, 
charming dells, beautiful water-falls, and other features of a pleasant resort. 
As he returns to the city the traveller may be interested to remember that as 
lately as the spring of 181 1, all rhe region was a wilderness. In that year a 
wanderer from Louisiana located on wiiat is now the site of the cit\' and 
had a corn field on the spot now occupied by the United States government 
buildings. 




208 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 






Lc.un'nt:^ the capital city the tourist will pass to Malvern at which point 
he will take the Hot Sprini^s Railroad for the city of that name, which lies 
twenty-two miles away. On the last part of the trip the course lies through 
a rough and broken country, and many fine views are obtained from the car 
windows as the train glides along. 

The city of Hot Springs is situated about 65 miles southwest of Little 
RtK-k. It is located in a narrow valley of the Ozark Mountains on a small 

stream known as Hot Springs 
Creek. This valley is onl}' about 
one ami one-half miles in length 
and lies some 1,500 feet above 
the level of the sea. In this 
small area are from 75 to 100 
'."u.-'l^ hdt springs, which are noted for 
^'-^ the metlicinal properties of their 
\\ .iters. These springs have 
lucn famous for a long period. 
IVfore the advent of the white 
man upon these western shores, 
the Indians frequented the 
Springs when suffering from ills 
which their "medicine men" 
were unable to relieve. Many 
who were unable to make the 
journey alone A\ere carried by 
their companions. The whites 
were not slow to test the merits 
of these warm springs. The 
efficiency of the waters in the cure of rheumatism, malarial fevers, and numer- 
ous chronic diseases soon gave the locality a widely-spread fame, which has 
seemed to steadily increase w ith the passing )-ears. Of course, such a pecu- 
liar localit}' is not without its tratlitions. Among them is one to the effect 
that this is the place of which the famous Ponce ile Leon was in search when, 
early in the sixteenth century, he landed on the coast of Florida and made 
extensive explorations in hope of finding the fabled fountain of eternal youth. 
The temperature of the water of these springs varies from 105'' to 160''"' F. 
The springs issue from the sandstone hills w hich fiu-m the walls of the valley. 







101 Sl'KlNGS, ARKANSAS. 
Looking down the Valley. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 209 



It is claimed that by the use of tlieir waters many thousands of peo[)le whose 
diseases had been pronounced incurable have been restored to perfect health. 
In the bed of the creek there are also thermal si)rin<^s wliich make the water 
sufificiently warm for bathing even in the coldest weather of winter. 

But great as is the number of invalids who flock to these health-restoring 
springs, this class furnishes only a portion of the visitors who find their way 
to this lovely moun- 
tain retreat. The 
charms of the scen- 
ery, the unique and 
extremely beautiful 
situation of the town, 
the pure and invig- 
orating air, and the 
excellent accommo- 
dations for travellers 
which are furnished 
by many large and 
well-conducted ho- 
tels, have combined 
to bring to this fa- 
vored place multi- 
tudes of people who 
are merely and only 
in search of pleasure. 
So great is the num- 
ber of visitors of 
this class that in win- 
ter Hot Springs pre- 
sents the character- 
istics of a fashionable pleasure resort in almost as strongly marked a degree 
as it bears the impress of a great sanitarium. During a period of seven years 
from 1880, the permanent population of Hot Springs was nearly doubled. 
In 1887 it had reached about 7,000. 

Returning to Malvern by the route by which he came — the only one unless 
he is willing to make a slow and tedious journey by the wagon road — the 
tourist will proceed on his trip to the " Lone Star" State. 




A VIEW OF THE HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS. 
On line of the Iron Mountain Route. 



2IO THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

The State of Texas will have an interest to the tourist outside of the 
beautiful scenery which it presents to his gaze. Its vast area, sufificient for 
an empire and much larger than either the German Empire or the French 
Republic, will fill him with amazement. If he explores the region with any 




degree of thoroughness, he will be astonished at the great vanatfons of 
climate. In one portion he will find a temperate range, neither extremely 
cold in winter nor oppressively hot in the summer. In another section he 
will find a sub-tropical climate with the vegetation natural to regions with a 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 211 




RANCHFkS r\blN TF\AS 
On line of International and Great Northern Railway. 



high temperature. Between the.se points he will find a section of moderate 
warmth and producing the plants of more northern regions in great abundance 
and variety. The character and appearance of" the soil also varies greatly 
in different portions of the 
State. There are remark- 
ably fertile sections in whicli 
an abundance of forage is 
produced and multitudes ot 
cattle and sheep are kept at 
very little expense. Man}- 
of the cattle ranches in this 
region are of immense ex- 
tent. The climate is so warm 
that buildings to shelter the 
animals are not required and 
the mildness of the winters 
also makes it unnecessary to 
provide crops for their sus- 
tenance during this period. In this respect, as well as in the low price of 
land, the Texas cattle grower has an immense advantage over the Northern 
fanner and stock-raiser. 

The contrasts in elevation are also very strongly marked. Near the Gulf 

coast, and for quite a distance 
H up the large rivers, the land 
P is low, and of a marshy na- 
i ture. In some parts this low 
region extends inland a dis- 
tance of sixty miles. Still 
farther from the coast are nu- 
merous plains lying about 
1,000 feet above the level of 
the sea, with many bluffs, and 
presenting a somewhat rolling 
surface. Toward the west 
there is a mountainous region 
in which are found many peaks belonging to an extension, or offshoot, of the 
great Rocky Mountain Range. In the northwestern portion of the State is the 




ON LINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND GREAT Nc.lRTHERN 
RAILWAY. TEXAS. 



212 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 




111 ,\1KKS PARADISE, HUUSTON, TEXAS. 
On line of International and Great Northern Railway. 



famous " Staked Plain." This is an elevated region forming a continuation of 

the Great Plains which, beginning in British America, pass down the eastern 

side of the Rocky 
Mountains to the Rio 
Pecos River. It de- 
rives its peculiar name 
from the i m m e n s e 
number of yucca 
stems which, rising to 
a height of from ten 
to fifteen feet, give the 
plain an appearance 

of being thickly covered with upright stakes. The plain lies from 2,500 to 

4,000 feet above the sea and 

contains a number of small 

lakes, in some of which the 

water is salt. As the rainfall 

is scanty and there are but 

few streams, the whole region 

was formerly considered worth- 
less cither for cultivation or for 

grazing. But investigation has 

shown that the soil is rich and 

produces a good quality and an 

abundant quantity of grass. It 

has also been found that with 

but little difficulty plenty of water can be 

obtained from wells and from reservoirs. 

Many cattle are now kept in this region 

and it is not improbable that it will in time come 

to be considered a very desirable location for the 

live-stock business. The mildness of the climate, 

together with the healthfulness of the region \yill 

attract settlers from other States. With the in- ^"""^e"' pasture on the 

. BIANCO RIVER, TEXAS. 

crease of population the area under cultivation on line of international and 

will be extended. This will undoubtedly increase "^''''' ""'='"" a. way. 

the rainfall and make a marked improvement in the appearance of the section. 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 213 



To the sportsman Texas offers a magnificent field for the exercise of his 
skill. Game and fish of almost numberless kinds abound. The antelope may 
be found in the northwestern portion of the State, and it is thought that a 
few specimens of the buffalo still remain in this section. In some of the 
forest regions several somewhat ferocious animals are found. Of these the 
most important are the black „••" 

bear, the puma, the lynx, the 
wild-cat and the jaguar. 
There are many districts in 
which deer, foxes, raccoons, 
opossums, and squirrels 
abound. Birds are also found 
in great variety and in im- 
mense flocks. Wild geese, 
wild ducks, quail, snipe, phea- 
sants, and others which are 
valued for their flesh, can be 
obtained in large numbers, 
while hawks, herons, pelicans, ^^^^^^;.=^^^^^^^IZ.^" -~ J^ 



cranes, flamingoes; and even 
vultures, -are easily secured. 
In some cases splendid hunt- 
ing grounds are found at only 
a little distance from a city 
or large town. Fishing is 
also excellent, both as per- 
tains to the quality of the 
fish and the numbers in which 
they can be obtained. In 
tJiis, as in the case of hunt- 
ing, the sportsman does not have to go out of the range of civilization in 
order to obtain the pleasure of which he is in search. 

Viewed from an agricultural standpoint, Texas is also a remarkable State. 
Although it has more cattle than any other State in the Union, it also, accord- 
ing to late returns, ranks first as a cotton-producing State and second in the 
number of sheep maintained. In the production of sugar it is in the second 
rank, and it grows about five and one-half million bushels of wheat, twelve 




COIION 1 in 1), IILARNL, IL\A^. 
On line of International and Great Northern Railway, 



214 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

million bushels of oats, and seventy-six million bushels of Indian corn each 
year. Notwithstanding this vast production, Texas still has in its public 
domain more than sixty-seven million acres of land. In other words, its un- 
occupied territory is larger than the entire area of any other State except 
California and Nevada. And the vast agricultural development described is 
of quite recent date. We do not have to go back very far to find a time at 
which there was little interest in agricultural affairs, Texas was a compara- 
tively dead country in the early part of the present century, and its progress 
was very slow until quite a period had elapsed after its annexation to the 
L^nited States in 1845. 

In the splendid agricultural region through which the International and 
Great Northern Railroad passes there are almost numberless beautiful scenes. 
At Hearne immense cotton fields will be found, with their naturally pictur- 
esque surroundings. At Austin, the capital of the State, the tourist will find 
many points of interest. The city is located near the centre of the State, 
and is largely built upon a range of hills, about 550 feet in height, which rise 
from the left bank of the Colorado River. It is an important railroad point. 
The streets are wide and some of the avenues measure 120 feet. A public 
park, 23 acres in extent, has been laid out and both park and streets are 
nicely shaded. There are several educational institutions *and various manu- 
factories. The new Capitol building is a magnificent structure and ranks 
among the finest public buildings in the countr}-. It is four stories high, 
566^ feet long, 288f feet wide, and surmounted by a dome 311 feet in 
height. It is built of limestone quarried near b}- and the interior is hand- 
somely finished in various shades of Texas marble. For its erection the con- 
tractors were given 3,000,000 acres of land located in the northwestern por- 
tion of the State— an area nearly as large as that of the entire State of 
Connecticut and more than one-third larger than the combined areas of the 
States of Rhode Island and Delaware. The city was named for Moses Austin, 
the leader of the first American colony which settled in Texas. It was in- 
corporated as a city as early as 1839, ^"^ ^^'^^ ^^e capital before, as it has 
been since, Texas was annexed to the United States. The scenery in the 
immediate vicinity is very fine. The tourist should also \-isit the numerous 
beautiful localities which, at only short distances, are to be found along the 
banks of the Colorado River. 

Farther down the line a stop should be made at San Marcos, the capital 
of Hays County, and a very pretty town. But it is celebrated principally for 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 215 

the great beauty of the river of the same name near which it is located and 
for the boihng spring in the bed of the stream. The spring, which forms the 
source of the river, comes from the base of the mountain which here rises 
from the surrounding plain. Except in the constant flow of the water it 
closely resembles a lake. Its width is about 300 feet and it is nearly a quar- 
ter of a mile in length. The water is perfectly transparent and the scenery 
for quite a distance around is remarkably beautiful. An enthusiastic admirer 
of this river has compared 
the openings between the 
trees which line its banks to 

" Golden paths 
That lead through Eden to Heaven's 
fairer fields." 

San Antonio will also 
prove a picturesque spot 
and the tourist will examine 
with interest the ruins of 
the mission churches estab- 
lished by the Catholics ear- 
ly in the eighteenth cent- 
ury. These churches served 
as places of defence from 
Indian attacks and for 
schools as well as for reli- 
gious purposes. The fa- 
mous Alamo will also be a 
place of interest to every 
one who appreciates hero- 
ism and who values liberty. 

In the growth of her cities and the extension of her commercial and man- 
ufacturing interests, Texas presents an interesting study. The tourist may 
enter a thriving city in which there is abundant evidence of skill and energy 
on the part of the inhabitants and which has all the stability of an ancient 
town and yet he may find on inquiry that the whole city has been built 
within a dozen or fifteen years. The great development of the railroad inter- 
est has had a wonderful effect in bringing settlers to this section of the 
country, while the natural advantages which it offers to merchants, mechanics 




pf'c 



COLORADO RIVER, NEAR AUSTIN, TEXAS. 
On line of International and Great Northern Railroad. 



2i6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



or farmers not only draw multitudes of people here, but keep a large pro- 
portion of them as permanent residents. So it occurs that fine towns and 




SAN MARCOS, TEXAS. 
On line of International and Great Northern Railroad. 

prosperous cities have been erected on sites which a few years ago were por- 
tions of a wilderness crossed 
only by the trails of Indians 
who roamed over the country 
at will. 

Still another element of in- 
terest to the tourist, in many 
instances the predominating 
sentiment, will be found in the 
historical associations which are 
connected with so many locali- 
ties in this great land. As early 
as 1683, Texas was visited by 
the great explorer La Salle, 
who afterward built a fort and 
prepared for a permanent set- 
tlement. After an unsuccessful 

COLORADO RIVF.K, NF.AR AUSTIN, TEXAS. . 

On line of Internationa: and Great Northern Railroad. attempt tO fouud a ColOUy lU 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 217 



1690, the Spaniards succeeded in 1715 in establishing several missions. They 
called the country New Philippines. The Indians in the region proved hostile 
and the efforts of the set- 
tlers met with but little 
success. When the 
United States obtained 
control of Louisiana in 
1803 Texas was also 
claimed, but the claim 
was resisted by Spain. 
Settlements were made 
at various times b> 
United States citizens 
and also by Mexicans. 
Within a few 
years Mexico «^'-y . 
claimed the region, 
and to a certain 
extent the Mexi- 
can government 
exercised control 
over its affairs. In 
1833 an effort was 
made to form the 
section into an in- 
dependent Mexi- 
can State, but it 
was defeated, and 
two years later the 
Americans, under 
the leadership of 
their chosen Gen- 
eral, Sam Hous- 
ton, drove the 
Mexicans from 

the country. Then followed the invasion of Texas by the Mexicans, the mas- 
sacre at the Alamo, the usual horrors of war, the defeat of the invaders and 




SAN PEDRO RIVER AND SPRING, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. 
On line of International and Great Northern Railroad. 



2i8 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



the establishment of an independent republic. In 1845 ^^e annexation of 
Texas by the United States was made a cause of war by Mexico, After great 
cost and the loss of some thousands of lives peace was declared, and a more 
prosperous era opened upon the new State. 

Near the northeastern part of the State and on the line of the Dallas and 
Greenville branch of the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad, there are a 
number of very interesting localities. Perhaps the one possessing the great- 
est attractions is the Natural 



Bridge which spans a beauti- 
ful stream in Rockwall Coun- 
ty'. The Bridge itself closely 
resembles the famous Nat- 
ural Bridge in Virginia and 
is a rare as well as a beauti- 
ful specimen of Nature's 
architecture. Below the 
bridge the rocky walls rise 
somewhat abruptly from the 
banks of the stream. Be- 
tween the rocks, at various 
places, trees have grown and 
added their beauty to the 
general effect of the scenery. 
The water is clear and flows 
through a rocky channel in 
which numerous pools are 
formed and from which the 
skilful sportsman is able to secure fish of excellent quality and in large 
numbers. For quite a distance along the stream the scenery is charming, 
and the tourist who is willing to take a long walk will be amply repaid for the 
fatigue which he may sustain. 

In Tarrant County, lying in the northern and, measuring from east to 
west, the central portion of the State, we find Fort Worth, which some of the 
early settlers, with little regard to the then existing, state of things, but possi- 
bly with a view of future conditions, named " The Queen City of the Prairies." 
When this somewhat pretentious title was bestowed the settlement was not a 
city and its queenly appearance was wholly imaginary. But there has been 




NATURAL KKIDC.E, ROCKWALL COUNTY, TEXAS. 
On line of Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 219 

a wonderful change in the character and appearance of the place during the 
past few years. In 1874 it was merely a country hamlet. Then came the 
Texas Pacific Railroad and the population increased. It was predicted that 
the extension of the road would cause a decline, but the fears were not real- 
ized. Business increased, better buildings were erected, and the place had an 
air of progress and prosperity. With the development of the outlying region 




i.OiriiN rLAIFiiKM, lijRr Will; I II, TKXA.^. 
On line of Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway. 

and the increase of railroad facilities it has been making rapid strides. In 
1880 its population was nearly 7,000. Seven years later it was estimated at 
about 25,000. 

In the early history of the place a large court house was erected at an 
expense of $50,000. It was built in the form of a rotunda with four wrings. 
Over the rotunda was placed a fine cupola. From this elevation a splendid 
view of the surrounding country is obtained. Fort Worth is the great centre 



220 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 



of the live-stock interest in this region and a very important manufacturing 
and commercial city. Its educational facilities are excellent and it offers 
many advantages to people seeking either temporary or permanent homes in 
a mild and healthful climate 

A few miles west of Fort Worth the train crosses the Brazos River, which 

rises in the tableland at the north- 
western part of the State and 
flows east and southeast until it 
reaches the Gulf of Mexico. Its 
length is about 900 miles. In the 
spring it is navigable for steamers 
of considerable size for a distance 
of about 300 miles from its mouth. 
Near where the river is crossed by 
the Texas and Pacific Railroad 
are m any 
beautiful bits 
of landscape. 
It is mainly 
■ a high prai- 
rie region, 
but there are 
numerous 
strips of timber and many 
hills of considerable elevation. 
Many trees yielding valuable nuts, as 
the pecan, hickory, and walnut are found, to- 
gether with oak and ash timber trees. Farther 
scKNE ON THE BRAZOS, TEXAS, wcst the timber becomes smaller, except in 
'« On line of Texas and Pacific Railway, specially f avorablc localities, and the mcsquitc, 
a peculiar small and thorny tree, becomes abundant. From the numerous 
elevations the landscape presents a wonderfully beautiful appearance. Most 
of the land in sight is uncultivated and its natural features, unchanged by 
man, appear in all their primitive loveliness. 

In the broken region beyond the Brazos River there are numerous pictu- 
resque scenes. At the towns along the route, and at the scattered settlements 
of farmers and cattle-men in the outlying regions, evidence of a comparatively 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 221 

easy form of life will be abundant. Nature has done so much for man that he 
is not obliged to exert himself so constantly and so severely to obtain a liveli- 
hood as he must in less favored regions. At various places the careful observer 
will notice feats of engineering skill on the part of the builders of the railroad 
over which he is travelling. The trestle bridge, near Canyon, is an example 
of skilful and careful construction which deserves special mention, while the 




TRESTLES, NEAR CANVON, TEXAS. 
On line of Texas and Pacific Railway 

ascent of the steep grades farther west shows equal skill in the selection and 
preparation of a feasible route. 

In the vicinity of Big Springs the tourist will obtain many charming views. 
If not particular in regard to his accommodations he may pass a few days in 
this region very pleasantly. He will not find large hotels and may not " fare 
sumptuously every day," but he will not suffer for either food or shelter, and 
he cannot help being delighted with the beautiful scenery. 

Passing west a section will soon be reached which is largely devoted to 
grazing. Here great flocks of sheep will be seen feeding upon the luxuriant 



222 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

grass with which the land is covered. On many of the ranches water is ob- 
tained from artesian wells and is pumped to the surface by windmills. In 
other localities ordinary wells from thirty to fifty feet deep supply plenty of 
water. To quite an extent shepherd dogs are employed in protecting the 
sheep and in keeping them from straying. The first development of the 
sheep interest in Texas was in the southern and southwestern portions of the 
State, but since the discovery that water can be readily obtained farther 









'■^^ 









:y ^;^ 



^^^4 -f P 



r^"% 






RIG SPRINGS, TEXAS. 
On line of Texas and Pacific Railway, 



north the tendency has been in that direction. In 1886 the production of 
wool in the State amounted to more than 23,000,000 pounds. 

Crossing the Rio Pecos River we soon find a great change in the appear- 
ance of the country. Here the comparatively level section is left beh'nd 
and the outlying region of the Rocky Mountains begins. A marked pecu- 
liarity of the approach to this great range, from this direction, is found in the 
almost entire absence of the usual slope, and in its place a series of elevated 
plains rising abruptly from fifty feet to five hundred feet at each step. The 
plains thus formed range from fifty to one hundred miles in width. The 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 223 

series is continued, in the direction of the northwest, until the great range of 
the Rockies is reached. 

Proceeding toward El Paso the train is drawn up the slope of the Sierra 
Blanca Mountains to a height of five thousand feet above the sea level. The 
ascent brings many picturesque scenes into view, while from the highest ele- 
vation there is a magnificent outlook. The descent of the mountains is also 
replete with charming views, and the scenery continues wonderfully attrac- 




SHEKI' KANCH, MUILAND, TEXAS. 
On line of Texas and Pacific Railway 



tive until the end of the journey is reached at El Paso, " the gateway to old 
Mexico," and a beautiful and interesting locality. It is the western terminus 
of the Rio Grande division of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, and besides 
being an important railroad centre has various manufacturing interests. Its 
population increased from less than 1,000 in 1880 to more than 10,000 in Jan- 
uary, 1888. 

El Paso is the capital of El Paso County, which lies in the northwestern 
corner of the State. The county is mountainous and within its limits many 



224 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 



fS>>- 



\ij^-tfi 



scenes of rugged grandeur may be found. The plains between these moun- 
tain ranges will also prove of interest to the tourist who takes the time to 
traverse them. But the chief attractions of the region lie in the vicinity of 
the old town. The first settlement was made here by Jesuits about 1620. 
They built near the bank of the Rio Grande River, and though until recently 
the town made but a slow growth it has of late years become an important 
railroad centre and is now a thriving city and claims to be the " chief com- 
mercial point between New Orleans and Los Angeles." 
s^# . The valley is from two to six miles in width, the soil is 

S/^4 ' fertile and the climate is delightful. The rainfall is slight, 
'"VVi:^ averagmg not more than eight inches per year, but the 

-i land is casil} and cheaply irrigated. Snow seldom falls and 
' ^-fi "^v* 'ii.'^'^li' the mcicui\ hardly ever rises above 100° in mid-summer. 
"^ I \.§^'^' " -'^'' -^^ f' '■^'^ growing region this valley is remarkable. Pear 

ticts grow to an immense size and yield heavy crops 
of fiuit, while other northern fruits, and those belong- 
ing to semi-tropical regions, 



are produced in great abun- 
dance. The grape is particu- 
larly successful, coming into 
bearing very early and }'ield- 
ing large crops of fruit of an 
excellent quality. Many large 
vineyards have been set and 
wine-making has already be- 
come a thriving industry. The 
mining interests of the region 
are also important. 
A little above the town is El Paso del Norte, "the pass of the North." a 
narrow and fertile valley through which the Rio Grande River finds its way 
on its course to the sea. In this gorge there are many beautiful localities. 
Just across the river, on the Mexican side, lies the old city of El Paso, a 
place of several thousand inhabitants, most of whom are Mexicans. The 
buildings are nearly all made of adobe, or sun-dried bricks. The principal 
building is a church said to be more than 280 years old. It is an adobe 
structure, plastered both inside and outside. The exterior is extremely plain, 
but the interior is nicely finished, with elegant carvings which give it a taste- 




.SIERRA ULANCA MOINTAINS, TEXAS. 
Cn line of Texas and Pacific Railwav. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 225 



ful appearance. In the 
tower are three large 
bells said to be as old 
as the buliding itself. 

A short distance 
down the river may 
be seen the dilapidat- 
ed form of old Fort 
Bliss. Still farther 
down, some 13 miles 
below El Paso, is the 
ancient Pueblo town 
of Ysleta, formerly 
the capital of El Paso 
County. It is now in- 
habited almost exclu- 
sively by Mexicans 
and Indians. It con- 
tains a Catholic 
Church said to have 
been erected more 
than 300 years ago, and 
which is well worthy 
of a visit. There are 
various other settle- 
ments farther down 
the river, but they are 
not places of special 
interest to the average 
tourist. In and around 
El Paso, on both the 
American and the 
Mexican sides of the 
river, he will find the 
most beautiful scene- 
ry and will come in 
contact with the nu- 




ROAD AT EL PASO AND VIEW OF FORT BLISS, TEXAS. 
On 1 ne of Texas and Pacific Railway. 



226 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

merous and widely differing types of civilization which prevail in all the 
surrounding region. 



SCENES IN NEW MEXICO. 

HE traveller who strays to New Mexico will go somewhat out of the 
principal line of tourist excursions, though he will by no means 
find himself without company in his expedition. Neither will lie 
regret his choice of a place in which to spend a few leisure days. The maii)- 
peculiarities of the region, the mildness of the climate and the beauty of the 
scenery, the almost solemn stillness which prevails at the native villages, with 
the primitive manner of life of the people, combine to make it a most inter- 
esting section to the thoughtful and observant visitor. 

It is claimed by some geologists that here the first dry land of the con- 
tinent appeared. The region was certainly the seat of an ancient civilization. 
Even now ancient manners and customs prevail to a marked degree. In 
some of the villages the natives follow the communistic mode of life which, 
hundreds of years ago, their ancestors adopted in order that they might the 
more successfully defend themselves from their numerous enemies. In vari- 
ous other respects the civilization belongs to a period long since passed away 
and the people remain passively and contentedly in the condition in which 
their predec'essors lived. 

One of the peculiar and interesting scenes which this section presents is 
found at the Pueblo de Taos — among the oldest of the ancient adobe forts. 
Leaving the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad at Embudo the tourist will 
make the trip along the Taos valley on horseback. On the route several 
small villages will be passed and a primitive method of agricultural life will 
be observed at the farm-houses, if such they can be called, of the region. 
The valley is fertile and the superficial methods of the natives secure a suffi- 
cient return from the soil to keep them in comparative comfort. Not far 
from the centre of the valley the town of Fernandez de Taos is located. It 
is inhabited by about 1,500 people. A little to the south is Ranchos de Taos, 
a village in which the houses are of adobe, but which boasts the modern in- 
novation of a flouring mill. The buildings known as the I'ueblo de Taos lie 
close to the Taos Mountain, about two miles from the village first mentioned, 
and form the home of some 400 Indians. 








— -ii«7T?ff-^ (iMiBs^- ;/x,//H ■ ^ 






228 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

The village of Fernandez de Taos was selected as the seat of government 
when the United States came into possession of the territory. Here the 
celebrated Kit Carson spent the last years of his life, and tradition afifirms 
that in this vicinity the famous Mexican ruler Montezuma, was born. 

The Indians living at the fort hold a peculiar festival on the 30th day of 
September of each year. Its design is to honor their patron saint (St. 
Jerome); The ceremonies, which are peculiar, are not often attended by 
white men, though they attract the Indians, in great numbers, from all the 
surrounding country. 

The two adobe buildings known as the Pueblo de Taos are about 50 feet 
high. They are some 600 feet apart and a stream flows between them. At 
each successive story the size of the building diminishes, so that a rude pyra- 
midal form is assumed. Appearances indicate that these buildings have 
been enlarged in size as the demand for room increased. Access to the in- 
terior is obtained by means of two ladders. By one of these the top of the 
first story is reached while the other, passing through a hole in the roof, leads 
to the room below. 

As he leaves this peculiar people and passes down the valley to the point 
at which the cars are to take the place of the small and slow Mexican ponies 
the tourist, if of an imaginative disposition, can almost persuade himself that 
he has been visiting a foreign land. If of an observing mind he will be con- 
vinced that for some portions of this territory there are great possibilities of 
development. He will have no doubt that the tide of our restless civilization 
will soon set strongh' in the direction of these fertile valleys and the valuable 
mining regions in the mountains. The thoughtless, listless idlers who now 
inhabit some of the finest portions of the land will be obliged to change their 
manner of life or the)- will be crowded out by a more enterprising people. 
Whatever may, in the future, befall the land or its people, the tourist will 
cherish for them the kindest feelings and the quaint pictures of scenery and 
life which he has so keenly enjoyed will linger long and pleasantly in his 
memory. 




HERE AND THERE IN THE GREAT 

WEST. 

OR residents of the central portion of the United States, or for 
visitors to that region, St. Louis is an excellent point from which 
to take a trip for health or pleasure. From this great centre the 
finest railroads branch in all directions and all prominent points are readily 
accessible. Let us now 
take a brief look at a 
few points a little dis- 
tance toward the " set- 
ting sun." 

The tourist who 
crosses the State of 
Missouri by the Mis- 
souri Pacific Railroad 
will find a diversified 
country. There will be 
no startling exhibitions 
of natural scenery, but 
many very pleasant lo- 
calities will be passed. 
There will be many 
places at which, if time 
were unlimited hewould 
be glad to remain for 
awhile and for a visit to 
which he would be well 
repaid. Among these 
points of interest is 
Warrensburg, 218 miles 
from St. Louis, a thriving town of some 6,000 inhabitants. There he will find 
several public buildings, Warrensburg being the capital of the county, and 
the State Normal School. There is considerable manufacturing in several 
lines, some large flouring mills, and extensive quarries from which a remark- 




PERTLE SPRINGS, WARRENSBURG, MO. 
On line of Missouri Pacific Railway. 



210 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



ably fine qualit}' of sandstone is obtained. But the chief interest to the tour- 
ist will centre around the famous Pertle Springs. The beauty of nature has 
here been supplemented by the art of man. The scene presented is so charm- 
ing that it is not a matter for surprise that the resort has become famous 
throughout the region and that it is visited by thousands who have no special 
need of the health-restoring influences for which it is celebrated and by which 
large numbers are attracted. It is an excellent place for enjoyment as well as 
for recuperation. 

In the southwestern portion of Missouri and the southern part of Kansas 
there are a large number of remarkably beautiful views. Of these many are 

near the lines of the various 
railroads which form a net- 
A\'ork of iron over these States. 
Others are at some distance 
from the tracks and ma) be 
reached on horseback, or, in 
many cases, by public convey- 
ance. A coach ride through 
some of the beautiful vales of 
this region will yield no. small 
amount of pleasure. To many 
it will have the charm of nov- 
elty as well as present numer- 
ous scene-s of beaut}'. If the 
trip occurs in the summer, the tourist will not only have an opportunity to 
view the natural attractions, but he will also be able to see how agricultural 
operations are conducted in the western country. The great wheat fields and 
the vast areas devoted to corn will amaze him, even though he may have read 
much in regard to them and may be expecting to find large farms and splendid 
crops. If he keeps in mind the fact that a large part of the section in which 
he finds such a wonderful development of the farming interest has been under 
cultivation only a comparatively brief period, he will be ready to admit that 
not only is it a remarkable country, but also that it is inhabited by a ver\- ener- 
getic and progressi\'e class of people. His wonder will be increased almost to 
the point of bewilderment if he remembers that onh- thirt\--fi\-e or fort}' \'ears 
ago this now prolific region was believed, even by men who had carefull}' ex- 
plored it, to be a veritable desert. It was included in the Great American 




STAGE ROUir., SCHKLL CITY TO F.I IliiKADu Sl'KlNt 
On line of Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



Desert of the geographies of that day, and many who visited the section in 
search of homes were so impressed with its forbidding aspect that they 
passed by what has proved to be one of the most productive portions of the 
country. A few of the visitors who were more courageous than the great 
majority resolved to practically test the capacity of the land. They were 
assured that trees could not grow in that soil and that farm crops would prove 
a failure. But trees and crops grew luxuriantly, people from adjoining re- 







-i ' 



WHEAT FIELD, SOUTHERN KANSAS. 
On line of Missouri Pacific Railway. 

gions and in still greater numbers from distant points, came flocking in, and 
in a brief period the desert had been converted into a most fruitful field and 
the dreary waste became the seat of a prosperous State. 

The Indian Territory, recently brought prominently to the attention of 
the public by the opening to settlement of Oklahoma, in the central portion 
of the territorial area, has many attractions for the tourist. This is particu- 
larly true of Oklahoma. The name of this region signifies " Beautiful Land " 
and is very appropriate, for the country abounds in scenes of beauty. A 
Spaniard who passed through this section as early as 1662 described it as a 



2^2 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



land of " pleasing, peaceful, and most pleasant fields, that not in all the Indies 
of Peru and New Spain, nor in Europe, have any such been seen so pleasant 
and delightful." 

But the scenic beauty of the Territory is by no means confined to Okla- 
homa. In various portions of the domain views of remarkable beaut}' may 
be obtained. In the southern and south-eastern portions we find a continua- 
tion of the Ozark range of 
mountains, with their diversified 
scenery. In the central part 
there is a belt of timber, while 
in the western portion of the 
Territory the land presents a 
rolling appearance and is des- 
titute of trees. This treeless 
plain is the beginning, in tlus 
latitude, of the long grade which 
reaches to the eastern base of 
the Rocky Mountains. 

A glance at the map and a 
superficial study of its general 
features would indicate that the 
State of Illinois has no special 
attractions for any one seeking 
grandeur or beauty in nature. 
Great enterprise, wonderful 
growth and development, splen- 
did buildings, and amazing in- 
dustrial energy and progress 
are to be expected, and will be 
found on every hand. But on 
account of her location " on the 
prairies," and from the fact that a large portion of her area is not more than 
500 feet above the level of the sea, it would naturally be supposed that the 
scenery would be extremeh' tame and uninteresting. As regards a consid- 
erable part of the State this supposition would be correct. But there are 
several points within her borders which present scenic attractions of great 
beauty and interest. 




A SCENE IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI. 
On line of Missouri Pacific Railway. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 233 

Partly from their peculiar form, but largely from the strongly marked 
contrast in which they stand to the surrounding landscape, the bluffs on the 
Mississippi River are noticeable features. Some of these rise to a height of 
400 feet above the surrounding region. Fountain Bluff, one of the landmarks 
of Jackson County, is some six miles in circumference, 300 feet high, and has 
upon its summit many peculiar "sink holes" of considerable depth. In 
Hardin County is the Cave in the Rock, which at a little distance looks like 
a huge pile of stones. On nearer approach a chamber some 80 feet long, 
with an entrance 80 feet wide, and 25 feet high, is founds Here in the time 

of the early settlers bands of 
marauders who operated on 
land and pirates who plun- 
dered the boats passing on the 
Ohio River had their rendez- 
vous. Passing to the north- 
ern portion of the State we 
find several very beautiful lakes and not a little 
scenery that is at once charming and romantic. 
This region, on account of its excellent fishing as 
well as by reason of its other attractions, is a 
favorite resort of sportsmen. 

While there are many interesting places and 
views in other portions of the State, there is noth- 
ing to exceed, and most visitors will probably de- 
clare that there is no scenery which in beaut}' and 
On line of Missouri, Kan. & Texas R'way. grandcur Combined Can nearly equal, that in the 
vicinity of Ottawa, the capital of La Salle County. Even within the city 
limits there are scenes of remarkable beauty, and for a distance of about 
fifteen miles, as we pass toward the west on the banks of the Illinois River, 
the peculiar conformation and unexpected changes of surface and general 
characteristics make a trip in this direction extremely pleasant. If in a 
retrospective frame of mind the visitor can look back to the time, not \ery 
long ago, when this region was the home of Indian tribes and the field of 
bitter conflict for possession of the soil ; if thought is then allowed to run 
over the brief intervening period which has witnessed the marvellous growth 
of Chicago and the numerous other cities and towns close at hand he will 
seem to be living in an age in which the amazing deeds recounted in fairy tales 




234 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

are more than accomplished. But to the party in pursuit of pleasure the 
present usually has far greater charms than the past, and the scenes around 
are the ones which may be expected to principally engage the attention. 
Several canons of considerable extent and remarkable beauty are found 




lliE UUK.-^KbllOL, UK TWIN CA.NO.N, .XLAR *,' 1 TAWA, ILL, 



along the river and there are also many glens of lesrs magnitude and, because 
comparatively unknown, of less popularity, but which are well worthy of a 
visit. The ease with which they can be reached by the residents of Chicago 
and other large places not far distant should make them very popular resorts. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 235 



By the " Great Rock Island Route " the tourist goes to Ottawa or to Utica. 
P'rom either of these points he can take an excellent carriage road leading 
through a rich farming section, or if at Ottawa may take a charming trip on 
a fine steam yacht which during the warm season plies between that city and 
the peculiar formation known as Starved Rock. This consists of a huge 
mass of limestone rising perpendicularly from the river to a height of 156 
feet above its level. It is 
about eight miles below 
Ottav.a, and attractions are 
not wanting all along the 
route. Quite a distance 
above is an immense ledge 
of rocks, lying in rugged 
grandeur, which is called 
Lover's Leap, and nearl)- 
opposite is the cliff known 
as Buffalo Rock, which rises 
abruptly from the valley in 
which it stands to a height 
of about 60 feet. In the 
vicinity of Starved Rock 
there are excellent places 
for parties who wish to 
" camp out " for a few days s^ 
or weeks. Pedestrian visits '^^'i,t*'v/''"5'f*v'» 
can be easily made there- 'jj^r?:^^^^ _ 
from to the various canons 
in which the "charms of 
solitude " appear in all their 
perfections. One of the fc 
most beautiful of these re- kridal veil falls, deer park glen. 

treats is the Horseshoe or Twin Canon, through which the water flows in a sil- 
very stream under the shade of the beautiful trees which flourish upon its banks. 
Here the visitor may retire from the world with which daily life has made 
him familiar and in the shadowy recesses of the lovely glen find a place of 
rest and peace so widely diff-ering from his usual surroundings as to seem to 
be on another -and distant globe. If of a reverent mind, and one can hardly 




236 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

fail to be reverent here, he can easily imagine himself in one of the great and 
supremely beautiful temples of the Infinite God. 

Another locality of great interest, some three or four miles from the 
steamer landing, three miles from Utica, or five miles from La Salle, is the 
Deer Park Glen, This can also be reached by carriage from Ottawa, the 
drive of twelve miles being a pleasant prelude to the happy hours which will 
be spent at its 'termination. The surface rock at this place is sandstone, and 
through it the constant flow of water during the ages past has cut a gorge 
with almost perpendicular walls upon which ferns and flowers, with clinging 
vines and diminutive shrubs, appear in varied hues and rich abundance. At 
the surface of the ground, and reaching close to the edges of the chasm, is a 
vigorous growth of forest trees. This wonderful glen extends a distance of 
one and a half miles. It is divided into two parts, the upper and lower, which 
are, perhaps, equally beautiful. The greatest depth of the gorge is 170 feet. 
In all portions of the glen rocks which have been cut and worn in fantastic 
forms by the marvellous processes of nature are found and a luxuriant and 
diversified plant-growth richly decks the scene. One of the finest views is 
obtained at the pool in the lower glen where is found a beautiful cascade 
called the Bridal Veil Falls. Here the silvery stream makes a plunge of 
forty feet into the deep pool of water lying at the foot of the precipice. An- 
other remarkable feature in this locality is the presence of valuable medicinal 
springs. Of these four arc found in the lower portion of the glen. 

Only about a mile distant from the Deer Park Glen is another very pecu- 
liar formation which is of great interest to the geologist as well as to the 
tourist. The place is known as Bailey's Falls, and is located near the junc- 
tion of Bailey's Creek with the Vermilion River. Its name is derived from 
Lewis Bailey, the pioneer settler of Vermilion Township, who located here 
in 1825, after having previously resided in Ohio and Indiana. The F'alls 
were then largely visited by Indians, with whom Bailey seems to have been 
on friendly terms. Here he remained until 1844, when his restless disposition 
again asserted itself and with his family he removed to the Northwest. 
About two miles away is Lowell, one of the oldest towns in La Salle County, 
with quite attractive scenery and a coal mine of considerable value. But the 
greatest interest of the locality centres around the Falls. Here the surface 
rock is limestone which is underlaid by sandstone. By the force of the water 
or by some convulsion of nature a great number of huge boulders have been 
broken from the limestone crust and piled in a confined mass below the P\ills, 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 237 

making the view wild and picturesque in the extreme. Another feature 
which will excite both curiosity and interest is found in the numerous holes, 
or wells, which have been worn into the limestone, in some cases to the depth 
of 20 or 30 feet, by boulders which the constant flow of the water has kept 
moving from side to side. The other features of the region are full of inter- 
est and the visitor will find new surprises and added charms on every hand. 
Moving westward from the scenes just described we come to Iowa, a State 




bailey's falls, la SALLE COUNTY, n,L. 

entirely destitute of mountains, but by no means wanting in natural attrac- 
tions. There are forests as well as prairies, and many bluffs rise boldly from 
the large rivers which course through its territory. Beautiful ravines are 
found, while at a distance from the large streams the undulating surface of 
the prairies presents a mild yet picturesque aspect. But by far the most 
beautiful scenery of the State is found in the vicinity of the numerous lakes 
which dot its northern portion, and which have become deservedly popular 
with a large number of pleasure seekers. 

Probably the best known, and perhaps the most charming of the lakes 



238 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

which beautify the upper part of the State, is Spirit Lake, which lies in Dick- 
inson County, 1,650 feet above the sea, and at the highest point in Iowa. It 
is the largest, and lies the farthest north, of a group of beautiful lakes within 
a short distance of each other. It covers an area of about 5,600 acres and 
presents a shore line of more than 13 miles. Along its eastern side are several 
lesser lakes divided from it by small ridges of land upon some of which good 
roads have been constructed. On the south shore of the lake, in a most 
beautiful situation, the large and splendidly equipped Hotel Orleans has 
been built. From this point the East Okoboji Lake is also in view, and the 
scenery in every direction is noted for its quiet beauty. This section is di- 
rectly reached by the celebrated "Albert Lea " route. 

The region of Spirit Lake also possesses an historical interest — an inter- 
est, however, not unmixed with deepest sadness. As lately as 1857 it was the 
scene of a terrible massacre by the Indians, in which a number of the early 
white settlers lost their lives and the remainder were driven in terror from 
their homes. A few, who were perhaps more unfortunate than their neigh- 
bors who were killed, were carried away by the Indians to suffer the horrors 
of captivity and the most atrocious treatment by their savage foes. This 
Indian raid extended to many settlements and a large section of country 
was devastated. So great was the excitement, and so terrible the fear, that 
multitudes of settlers left their homes long before the attacking party reached 
them and fled in confusion over the prairie. At this time there were six 
houses at the Lake and but few of their occupants escaped. With the ex- 
pulsion of the Indians the settlement and development of the region com- 
menced anew and there was opened a period of permanent prosperity, in 
happy contrast with the troublous times of its early history. 

Little Spirit Lake, separated from Spirit Lake by a narrow bit of land, is 
a beautiful sheet of water with most inviting surroundings. Some enthusias- 
tic tourists have asserted that this region is the most attractive summer resort 
in the whole Northwest. Admirers of other localities may think this an ex- 
travagant claim, but only a brief visit will be required to convince the traveller 
that if it is not absolutely the first in point of beauty, it is certainly " in the 
first line " of charming scenes. The beach is clean and sandy, with a gentle 
slope from the shore, and offers an excellent place for bathing. The fishing 
in this, and the adjacent lakes, is unexcelled. The waters have been liberally 
stocked with fish of excellent \arieties, and California salmon and MackinaAV 
trout, as well as whitcfish. pickerel, bass, muskalonge, and perch abound. 




"^r^' 



240 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

The hunting in the immediate vicinity is as fine in its way as the fishing at 
the lakes. 

About four miles from Spirit Lake is the celebrated West Okoboji Lake, 
covering an area of about 4,000 acres but with so many bays and capes that 
its shore line measures 18 miles. The beach sand is perfectly white and clean 
and the water of the lake is so clear that at a depth of 25 feet the movements 
of fishes can be readily seen. East Okoboji is also a beautiful sheet of water 
closely resembling a wide and peaceful river. A peculiar feature of this lake 




VIEW L'N Lli 1 LK Si'lKlT LAKE, JfjWA. 



is seen in its position, lying, as it does, some four feet lower that the level of 
another body of water from which it is separated by only a narrow strip of 
ground. 

Turning our course toward the north we enter Minnesota, another State 
devoid of mountains, but widely celebrated for the number and extent of its 
lakes and the extreme beauty of their scenery. W^ithin its bounds there are 
from 7,000 to 10,000 lakes, not one of which covers a less area than 30 acres. 
Of these the most widely known, the most popular with tourists, and in some 
particulars the most charming, is Lake Minnetonka. Situated only a few 
miles from St. Paul it is, from that point, or from Minneapolis, easily reached 



242 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 



by the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad, which runs frequent 
trains directly to the lake. 

In the irregularity of its form Lake Minnetonka is one of the most pecu- 
liar bodies of water ever discovered. It is about 15 miles in length, follow- 
ing an air line, but the indentations are so numerous and so extensive as to 
give it a coast line of not less than 250 miles. The effect of this wonderful 
contour is heightened by the character of the shores, which 
present numerous elevations and in many portions are 
covered with a large and beautiful forest growth. 

The visitor will find that while nature has been lavish 
with her beauties, presenting charming scenes from every 
point of view, man has also made abundant provision for 
his comfort. Upon the beach he will find the Hotel La- 
fayette, 1,100 feet in length b}' 100 feet in width, with wide 
piazzas, and in all its exterior construction beautified and 
adorned by the architect's skill. The interior is also beau- 
tiful, is furnished in a luxurious manner, and the guest 
can here find all the comforts and conveniences which it 
is possible to supply. At various other locations along 
the shore many quiet retreats can be found for those who 
desire a more secluded life than that at the fashionable 
resorts. The climate is almost perfect. Even during 
mid-summer the days and nights are delightfull}- cool and 
iiuNTiiNG scKNK. tlic brcezcs fresh and invigorating. 

The numerous points of interest along the shores of the lake are easily 
reached by the fine side-wheel steamers which ply upon its waters. Some of 
these boats are large enough to carry 1,500 or 2,000 people, and all are fitted 
up in an elegant manner. The}' leave Wayzata, on Wayzata Bay, and pass 
to the little village of Excelsior, which was one of the earlier settlements in 
the region and is now a quiet but popular summer resort. Touching at other 
places of interest the boat passes through the Narrows to the upper lake, 
where Spring I'ark is located, islands covered with forests abound, and nu- 
merous exceedingly beautiful views are presented. As there are nearly fift}' 
steamers, one hundred saiL boats, and numberless row boats, no visitor who 
desires a sail on the lake need be disappointed. The fishing is also very fine. 
Some of the best varieties of bass are here obtained as well as many other 
kinds of fish which the sportsman delights to secure. On account of its 




244 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

many attractions, both as regards natural scenery and what man has done to 
supply the comforts of civilization, it is not strange that Lake Minnetonka 
has received the appellation of " the Saratoga of the Northwest." It is in- 
teresting to remember that the Falls of Minnehaha, to which Longfellow 
attracted wide attention by one of his famous poems, are on one of the out- 
lets of this lake and only a short distance from Minneapolis. 

Leaving St. Paul by the Northern Pacific Railroad the traveller will also 
pass through a magnificent lake region. Arriving at Detroit City, the capi- 
tal of Becker County, he should remain for a few days at least, and enjoy 
the scene here presented to view. He will find himself in the midst of a very 
rich agricultural section. The State of Minnesota is justly celebrated for the 
excellent equality of its wheat, and Becker is the leading county in the pro- 
duction of this cereal. The visitor is also in what is known as the Lake Park 
region of the State, a region containing a large number of most beautiful 
lakes and remarkably rich and diversified scenery. 

The city of Detroit is 227 miles distant from St. Paul and has a charming 
location. Looking eastward a beautiful timbered country is seen. Turning 
toward the west the prairie stretches away as far as the eye can reach. Only 
half a mile away is Detroit Lake, famed, even in this region of magnificent 
lakes, for its wonderful beauty. Near by are beautiful bluffs with cool and 
quiet glens, game is plenty, fishing is excellent, the air is clear, and the 
natural surroundings are delightful. The tourist also finds excellent hotel 
accommodations. Only 25 miles distant, on the north, is the Reservation of 
the Chippewa or Ojibway Indians, to which a ver}' pleasant visit ma)- be 
easily made. The tribe numbers about 1,500. Visitors are kindly received 
and find an intelligent, civilized, and to a good degree, Christianized people. 

Again taking the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railroad and resum- 
ing our journey toward the west we come to the new State of North Dakota, 
which, with its sister State of South Dakota, until the spring of 1889 formed 
the great Territory of Dakota. In point of size it was the largest Territory 
in the Union, and was equalled in area by only two States, Texas and Cali- 
fornia. On account of the beauty of much of its scenery, and of the sharply 
marked contrasts which it presents, it has been stj'led the " \\'onderland." 
The State lies mostly in the region known as the " Great Plains," but at a 
somewhat lower altitude than the southern portion of the plateau thus desig- 
nated. Among its numerous interesting features its large lakes are worthy 
of special mention. To one of these we will now turn our attention. 



246 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

Lake Minnewakan, or, as it is popularly called," Devil's Lake,'' is the larg- 
est body of water in the State and is also the most peculiar. It is located in 
Ramsey County, in the northeastern portion of the State. In a charming- 
location upon its northern shore is the capital of the county. Devil's Lake 
City, the western terminus of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Rail- 
road, and quite a business centre. Here will be found ample accommodations 
for visitors, while parties who prefer to " camp out " will have no difificulty in 
securing everything needed for their comfort. On the route the traveller will 
pass through the Red River Valley, famous throughout the country for its 
immense production of wheat and for containing the largest cultivated farms 
in the world. 

Arrived at the lake the tourist will wonder how it came by a name of 
such ill omen. For he will find that the appearance of this remarkable sheet 
of water does not at all correspond with its title. Instead of the forbidding 
aspect and frowning appearance for which, if knowing nothing of its charac- 
ter, he will be prepared, there will come to his view a sheet of limpid water 
and shores of exquisite loveliness, while the more distant surroundings are 
also full of beauty tinged very strongly with romance. How, then, came this 
name, which is suggestive of every evil, to be fastened upon the lake ? The 
answer is easy. It was due to an error of the early travellers through this 
section. They designed to use an Indian expression meaning " Spirit water," 
but unfortunately adopted a somewhat similar one signifying utter worthless- 
ness for quenching thirst. The town which grew up upon its shore received 
the same opprobrious title, and the effort made to change the name of the 
lake to Minnewakan has met with little success.' 

In outline the lake is extremely irregular and presents a very extended 
and remarkably beautiful shore line. There are various elevations from 
which extensive views of the surrounding countr\' may be obtained. From 
the northern shore there is a good view^ of a military post named Fort Totten, 
and of a mountain peak called Devil's Heart, which can be seen forty miles 
away. Although so clear and beautiful in appearance the water of the lake 
is strongly impregnated with salt. It also contains other matters, as soda, 
lime, magnesium, and iron, in small proportions, and has proved quite ef^ca- 
cious in the treatment of various diseases. On account of the saline charac- 
ter of the water and the form of the beach the lake furnishes an excellent 
place for bathing. Man)' \'isitors have claimed that there is no finer surf- 
bathing on the shore of the Atlantic than can be found in this inland lake. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 247 

The attractions of the locaHty are heightened by the dry, pure air, the cool 
temperature in summer, and the frequent and refreshing breezes which pre- 
vail. The fishing is excellent, there is plenty of game in the vicinity for the 
hunter, there are good roads leading to various points of interest, and three 
steamers on the lake by which any locality upon its shores may be easily 
reached. Altogether, Devil's Lake presents many attractions and will prove 
a pleasant place in which to pass a summer vacation. 



THE ROCKIES AND BEYOND, 




N and beyond the Rocky Mountain region the scenes of interest" to 
the tourist are practically innumerable. In whatever direction he 
may turn, or to whatever locality he may go, he can be sure that 
he will find Nature majestic and magnificent. The tame and the common- 
place have no represen- 
tation here. Every- 
thing is on a splendid 
scale. The wonder ex- 
cited by one series of 
views will change to 
amazement as he be- 
holds, a little farther 
on, scenery still more 
grand and inspiring. 
The constant change, 
yet unbroken grandeur, 
v^n^ seem to be little 
less than miraculous. 

In this sketch we 
shall briefly note a few 
of the wonders of the 
region and cill atten- 
tion to a still smaller 
number of the cities ^ western contrast — nature and civilization. 

and towns which have sprung up, as if by magic, amid these sublime scenes. 
We shall not attempt to make a single tour which will include a visit to 




248 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

each place described, but shall treat them somewhat independently. This 
will be necessary as we wish to notice several places which, though not far 
distant from each other, are reached by different routes and could not well 
be included in a continuous trip. 

In this magnificent region we shall find cities and towns, villages, mining 
camps, and scattered farm-houses. All these are of comparatively recent 
date, yet some of them already have historic associations and are of interest 
to the general reader as well as to the tourist. The opening of the new 
country, the conflicts with the savage tribes which claimed the land, the 
building of towns and cities in this wild region then far distant from civilized 
localities, and the development of the agricultural resources, required a 
degree of courage, energy, perseverance, and skill which people in older set- 
tled sections seldom realize and still more rarely appreciate. The debt which 
the residents of the other sections of the country own to the pioneers of the 
Great West can never be paid. 

Perhaps in no locality can the vast changes which man has wrought within 
a brief period be more clearly seen than they are at Leadville, Colorado. 
Thirty years ago it lay in an almost unknown region and was without an in- 
habitant. A multitude of men had been drawn to Pike's Peak by the mining 
excitement of 1859 ''^"<^ were disappointed. A few, disgusted with the results 
of their efforts there, determined to go farther into the mountainous region 
and search for gold. Reaching the Arkansas River they turned their course 
and passed up the valley, making many searches for gold but finding none. 
It was in the year i860, and the season was half gone, when they reached a 
small stream which they followed quite a distance and soon discovered placer 
mines of gold. Three gulches, California, Stray Horse, and Iowa, were 
quickly found. Before winter set in the locality had a population of o\'er 
8,000, and two and a half millions of dollars worth of gold had been obtained. 
In 1874 the mines seemed exhausted and the place was practically abandoned. 

Three years later about twenty sha%ties were all the occupied buildings 
standing in Leadville. The next year, 1878, it was found that the carbonates, 
which had been regarded as worse than useless and which had been thrown 
anywhere to get them out of the \\a\', contained large quantities of silver. 
The tide of population quickl\' turned and within a year the residents of 
Leadville numbered from 12,000 to 15,000. Smelting furnaces were erected 
and vast quantities of ore were obtained. Millions of dollars' worth of silver 
and lead have been secured, as well as considerable quantities of gold, and 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 249 

mining is still vigorously pursued. The present permanent residents number 
over 10,000, and there is also a large floating population. 

In the manner of reaching the place, as well as in the character and de- 
velopment of the place itself, there has been an almost miraculous change. 
In the spring of 1878 stages, each drawn by six horses, were run from Denver 
and other railroad centres. Many eager men walked through the snow and 
mud. nnd multitudes were carried by private teams. Vast numbers of mules 




A SCENE ON IHK LKADVILl, ROIME. 



and oxen were used to haul supplies and mining machinery to the new town. 
Freight rates were enormous and a long time was required to make the 
journey. The discomforts of the trip, at any season of the year, were numer- 
ous and trying. In winter the cold was intense and progress slow. In sum- 
mer the dust was stifling. In spring and autumn it was difficult travelling on 
account of the mud, and a ride over the rough roads in the conveyances of 
that period was tiresome in the extreme. Now all is changed. The trip 
is quickly made in the luxurious cars of a well-equipped railroad and is 



250 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

an occasion of the greatest pleasure instead of a cause of weariness and 
annoyance. 

Arriving at our destination the change in conditions is equally great. 
Instead of having to sleep upon the floor of a saloon, in a canvas tent, or 
even upon bales of hay, as great numbers had to do in the early days of 
Leadville, the traveller now finds ample accommodations in the numerous and 
well -furnished hotels and boarding houses which are ready to supply him 
with every comfort. 

While ill this vicinity a visit should be paid to the Mountain of the Holy 
Cross. This celebrated formation of nature is a peak of the Saguache range 
of mountains, is situated on the Great Divide of Colorado, in Summit County, 
just above the line separating it from Lake County, eighteen miles north of 
Massive Mountain and twenty miles north of the city of Leadville, directly 
south of Mount Powell, and between Roan and the Rocky Mountains, and 
has a height of 14,176 feet above sea level. Its geological structure is of 
gneiss, and it has a vertical face of nearly 3,000 feet on the side. Notw^'th- 
standing the multiplicity of wonders in this region of continual amazement, 
it invariably attracts the deepest attention of the tourist because of the enor- 
mous white cross that seems to have been laid on its very crest. There are 
numerous lines of whiteness on the mountains in this section, but none save 
this present the outline of a complete and familiar figure. The cause of the 
irregular lines of white are the outcroppings of the rock and the presence of 
eternal snow. In this particular instance, the trunk of the cross is formed by 
a fissure in the rock, estimated to be 1,500 feet long, and the arms or crosspiece 
by a steppe or ledge in the rock on which snow remains all the year. In clear 
weather the cross can be discerned at a distance of from fifty to eighty miles. 

In 1 87 1, Thomas Moran, the distinguished artist, accompanied the United 
States exploring expedition to the Yellowstone country, and in 1873 made 
a second visit and took sketches for his famous painting of " The Grand 
Canon of the Yellowstone " and the " Chasm of the Colorado," which were 
purchased by Congress for $10,000 each, and are now in the Capitol at Wash- 
ington. He also brought " The Mountain of the Holy Cross " to the atten- 
tion of the public by making a grand painting of it, which was exhibited at 
the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876, and took a medal and 
diploma. The mountain received its name from the early stage drivers and 
prospectors for the precious metals, and was so apposite that no change has 
ever been suggested. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 251 



Another point of interest not far distant is Georgetown, also in Colorado, 
and in the central part of the Rocky Mountain district. It is about 50 miles 
west of Denver 
and is noted for 
the beauty of its 
location as well 
as for the valua- 
ble mining inter- 
ests which centre 
there. The val- 
ley, or rather the 1^6^., 
■canon, for it lies 
in the celebrated 
•Clear Creek Ca- 
non, in which it 
is built, is exceed- 
ingly beautiful, 
and the views of 
the m o u n t a i n 
peaks, which on 
three sides wall 
it in, are simply 
magnificent. The 

town lies about 8,500 feet above the 
sea, is nicely laid out, and contains 
many handsome residences. 

A visit to the silver mines and 
the extensive reduction works will 
be full of interest. Many charm- 
ing walks can be taken along the banks of the beautiful 
stieams which flow through the place and which combine 
with others to form the water-course known as Clear 
Creek — the river from which Clear Creek County, of 
which Georgetown is the capital, derives its name. A very pleasant trip 
may also be made to Green Lake, a most peculiar as well as beautiful sheet 
•of water. It is about two miles from the town and lies away up on the 
mountain side some two thousand feet higher than the town itself. It was 




252 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

once a valley covered with trees, which still remain erect. The sand at 
the bottom, the banks of the lake and the moss which heavily drapes them, 
are all green and from this fact the name of Green Lake was chosen. How 
the lake was formed, and where the springs which supply it are located, no 
one can tell. The water is remarkably clear and in some portions of the 
lake is very deep. At one end of the lake is the Cave of the Winds, where 
huge rocks are piled in confused forms and through which the breezes pass 




GEORGETOWN, COLORADO. 



with a melancholy sound. The Indians have a legend that at this spot certain 
opposing gods had their battle ground and that these great boulders are the 
weapons with which their warfare was waged. 

Tourists who are not burdened with wealth may be interested to know 
that, if not rich themselves, they have, while in Georgetown, very rich sur- 
roundings. From the county of which it is the capital more than twenty-five 
million dollars' worth of the precious metals have been taken, while the value 
of the minerals still remaining is altogether beyond human calculation. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



■5. 



Leaving Georgetown the railroad winds along the edge of the gorge and 
slowly climbs the mountain side. The road-bed has been cut and blasted out 
of the solid rock. We soon pass the Devil's Gate, a curious chasm through 
which the creek finds its way, and pursue our upward course. There are 
numerous curves and the grade is sharp. Coming to the Bow Knot Loop we 
see a very peculiar and expensive, but in such localities a necessary, form of 
railroad engineering. Looking upward a track is seen overhead on an iron 
bridge which was built in a crescent form. Continuing to ascend, and follow- 
ing a short curve, this iron bridge is crossed and the tourist looks down upon 
the track immediately below 



but over which the train has 
just passed. The bridge is 
300 feet long and 86 feet 
high. The loop of which it 
forms a part is said to be the 
most complex in form of any 
railroad loop in the world. 

About nine miles beyond 
Georgetown lies Graymont, 
the terminus of the Colorado 
Central branch of the Union 
Pacific Railroad. This is the 
point from which to make ex- 
cursions to Gray's Peak. The 
ascent is not very difificult 

and the views along the route, devils gate. 

and from the summit, give unbounded pleasure. The mountain is 14,441 
feet high. This is nearly 300 feet higher than Pike's Peak and only 23 feet 
less in height than Mount Blanco. The latter is believed to be the highest 
peak in the United States exclusive of Alaska. 

Though not distant from Graymont the peak is shut out from view by 
other and nearer mountains. Ascent must be made on horseback. For a 
mile or two the road is good. Then it changes to a path, narrow, but not 
difificult to follow\ The grade soon becomes quite sharp and the route is cir- 
cuitous. After a ride of a few miles the massive form of Gray's Peak, with 
its beautiful and eternal crown of snow, comes fully into view. It looms up 
in enormous proportions, silent, and awful in its majestic greatness. As we 




254 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



ascend, the air becomes rarefied and the temperature is reduced. As the 
snow line is approached many flowers will be noticed upon the sunny slopes. 
But long before the summit is attained the line of vegetation is passed. 
Looking backward the winding trail over which we have come may be dis- 
•ccrned. Hills and mountains, with narrow valleys, are seen far below. But 
it is from the summit of the peak that the " unapproachable view " is obtained. 
From this point all the great parks in the State may be seen. Looking 
toward the east vast plains are in view with many towns. Rivers appear like 

ribbons of light extend- 
ing for hundreds of miles. 
Mountains are seen on 
every hand. Ten or 
twelve of the peaks in 
sight are each more than 
14,000 feet high. The 
spectacle is sublime. In 
describing it one writer 
remarks as follows: 
" They who have tra- 
versed the globe say that 
it affords but one such 
prospect. A pictured 
landscape so mighty in 
conception that it over- 
powers, yet harmonious 
as an anthem in all its in- 
finite diffusion of color 
and form, framed only 
b)' the limit of the eye's vision — a picture where the lakes gleam and the 
rivers flow — where the trees nod and the cloud-ships clash in mystic collision 
with the peaks that have invaded their realm, while the moving sun floods it 
with real life and warmth." 

No description of the mountain, or of the view from its summit, can ade- 
quately set forth the solemn and majestic grandeur of the scene itself. No 
painting, with words or with colors, can fully portray the magnificent sur- 
roundings. Wherever else he may go in this wonderful State, or whatever 
marvels he may behold, the tourist who has looked from this lofty height will 




gray's peak. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 255 



yield ready assent to the as- 
sertion that " Gray's Peak is 
Colorado's finest attraction." 

In the great canons of 
Colorado the tourist will find 
innumerable scenes of grand- 
eur. The paths wind around 
and over the rocks, among 
the tall pines which skirt the 
banks of the roaring and 
foaming stream. The mas- 
sive walls rise high in the air. 
Deep gorges appear in which 
the rays of the sun find their 
way only at midday. In 
many of the deep recesses 
snow may be found at all 
times of the year. While 
examining these immense 
gorges, the mind is filled with 
amazement at the sublime 
scenes which appear on every 
hand. 

Among the most beauti- 
ful of the scenes in this re- 
gion, or even in the world, 
may be named the Cheyenne 
Canons and the Seven Falls, 
Avhich are reached by the 
main line of the Denver and 
Rio Grande Railroad. They 
are located in the Cheyenne 
Mountain, itself an object of 
beauty which is admired by 
all who obtain a view of its 
magnificent form, about two chkvk.nnk falls, 

miles south of Colorado Springs. To many thousands of people who have 




2^6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



read her beautiful poems and entertaining stories this mountain will have a 
deep interest as the burial place of " H. H.," Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson. 

Of the two canons in this vicinity the South Cheyenne is the most widely 
known. The stream is crossed eleven times before the head of the gorge is 
gained. Then a series of seven beautiful falls is reached. Looking upward 
the mountain peaks seem to touch the sV}-. Looking downward we see a 

tieep and narrow chasm 
through which the stream 
rushes in its winding 
course over a rough and 
rocky bed. 

The North Che}'enne 
Caiion is less wild and 
rugged in its appearance. 
Possibly it is somewhat 
less romantic. But it is- 
not wanting in grandeur. 
Were it not for compari- 
son with the magnificent 
gorges of the surround- 
ing region it Avould be 
considered sublime. The 
walls rise to grand heights 
and their pinnacles re- 
flect in beaut}' the light 
of the sun as it strikes 
them at various angles. 
The stream flows more 
smoothly than it does in 
the South Caiion and the 
walls are not as regular 
in their outlines, though very beautiful in form. There is a vigorous growth 
of shrubs and vines interspersed with the pines. All that is lost in wildness 
is more than made up in a loveliness which no pen can adequately describe 
and which only those who have seen it can appreciate. 

In the same vicinity, only five miles from Colorado Springs, are the cele- 
brated Manitou Springs, which every tourist to Colorado should be sure to- 




IN NORTH CIIK.VKNNE CANON. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



-57 



visit. The point of departure will be Colorado Springs, from which place the 
trip can be made by carriage or b}- a train on the Manitou branch of the 
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, which will take us, by a w inding course and 
through picturesque scenes, to Manitou. This place has many and varied 
attractions. Before it was settled by wliite men the Indians had learned 
something of the medicinal value of the Springs and frequentl}- brougl:t tlicir 
sick here to be healed b}- 
the apparently magical 
power of the waters. 
Then the miners who had 
lost health and strength 
by the exposure, toil, and 
privations to which, for 
many years, they had 
been subjected, began to 
test the waters and found 
them remarkably efificient 
in restoring health and 
vigor. The fame of the 
waters spread and visitors 
from abroad were at- 
tracted. Invalids were 
benefited. The well were 
delighted. The magnifi- 
cence of the scenery com- 
bined with the medicinal 
qualities of the waters to 
render the region alluring 
to travellers, and it soon 
became known as the 
" Saratoga of Colorado." 
During the warm season multitudes of people, including representatives from 
many foreign lands, visit these Springs. Many come for health ; m.ore come 
for pleasure. All find a beautiful locality and everything that is necessary 
for promoting their comfort and happiness. 

The important springs, of which there are six, vary somewhat in the 
character of their waters, but all contain carbonic acid in considerable quanti- 




A GLIMPSE ul MAMTOr AND PIKES PEAK. 



258 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



ties. The lowest in temperature is 43°, the highest 56°. All are effervescent, 
but some have this quality in a much higher degree than others. Some are 
strongly impregnated with soda, lime, and magnesia, while others contain iron 
in a marked degree. Of part of these springs the water is used for bathing 
as well as for drinking purposes. The pure, dry air undoubtedly adds greatly 
to the eflficiency of the waters, while the pleasant surroundings strongl)- tend 
to make the invalid " feel better " at once. 

As for the village, it is attractively located on the sides of the valley in 
which the springs are found. A beautiful stream, filled with water formed 
by the melted snow from the adjacent mountains, flows through the place. 

There are pretty 



groves of trees of 
various kinds, and 
the s h r u.b s and 
plants natural to 
high altitudes here 
abound. Excellent 
hotels pro\^ide for 
the comfort of the 
tourist, who may 
here find not mere- 
ly the conveniences 
but the luxuries of 




III MIMKU ill\lN(,S, MVMIOU, ( Ol OK VDO 



the most advanced civilization. The views from the piazzas' of these hotels 
are extensive and magnificent, as indeed they are from any point which. 
one can reach in this vicinity. 

While itself a splendid centre of attraction, many points in the region sur- 
rounding Manitou should also be visited. It is claimetl that no other resort 
in the world has so many objects of interest in its immediate \'icinit}-. How- 
c\'cr that may be, and we have no inclination to dispute the claim, it is certain 
that magnificent scenes abound and that there is abundant variety as well as 
marvellous beauty and grandeur in the whole region. 

The ascent of Pike's Peak, though difficult, is to be made if possible. It 
will open numberless magnificent scenes, and from the summit, which is the 
highest inhabited point in North America, a glorious view,, which will never 
be forgotten, will be obtained. All al")ng the trail there are changes of scene, 
and varied forms of beauty appear. There are gorges clothed in. luxuriant 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 



159 



green, beautiful streams rushing down their rocky beds and falling in grace- 
ful cascades over precipices of varying heights but constant charms. Enor- 
mous boulders lie all around. Elevation after elevation is climbed but still 
the great Peak toward which we move apparently recedes. But each increase 
in height opens a wider field of observation than had previously been secured. 
The horses— for excur- 
sions in this region must 
be made on horseback — 
pick their way carefully 
along the narrow ledges, 
under the overhanging 
rocks, and up the steep as- 
cents. As greater heights 
are gained frequent inter- 
vals for rest are needed. 
The rarefied air makes 
continuous exertion im- 
possible. But we lose 
nothing by the delay. For 
it gives us time to look 
backward over the vast 
area now open to view. 
We see widely extended 
plains, look downward 
upon the valley which we 
recently left, gaze upon 
the trees which line the 
banks of streams too small 
and too far away to be 
distinguished w i t h o u t 
their aid, and then looking upward and forward we see the majestic peak 
upon which we hope and expect ere long to stand. 

When about half the distance has been passed we come to a level spot 
which forms a natural park and furnishes an excellent and much-needed op- 
portunity to take a longer rest than we have yet secured. Here the surface 
is smooth and reminds one of a meadow on some river bank. But when we 
pass on we soon come to a steep and rocky path which we must climb for 




I'IKE S VF.AK TRAIL. 



26o THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



three miles. This will prove a difficult and exhausting feat. The tempera- 
ture has been rapidly falling and as we climb these precipitous ledges the 
cold becomes severe. But while we suffer from the cold the great exertion 
and the rarefied air cause the horses to pant as from mid-summer heat. At 
length the summit is gained and we stand upon the magnificent peak which 
has charmed us with its beauty from afar. 

The top of the mountain has an area of about seventy acres, not of land 
but of stones and rocks. From any and every point of the compass there 
are splendid views. The prairies in the far east stretch away to an almost 

limitless distance. In all directions the moun- 
tains in the vicinity rise in beaut}' and grandeur. 
As the sun goes down, the changing lights and 
fleeting shadows make a picture to be forever re- 
membered but never described. In the house 
erected for the officer of the Government signal 
service we remain until morning. The air is 
sharp and cold and is so rare that it gives a feel- 
ing strongly akin to sea-sickness. But in the 
morning when we behold the glories of the rising 
sun discomforts are, for a time, forgotten. The 
return trip to Manitou, though not without its 
annoyances, is less difficult than the ascent. The 
tourist is glad to reach the warmer region of the 
Springs and while he will never regret the trip 
he will not care to go over the route again — at 
least, not until another summer. 
i-\i"^|'"''\ I \'i-^- A much shorter, but very pleasant trip, is up 

the Ute Pass to Rainbow Falls and beyond. The Falls are in a narrow 
canon through which the P'ountain Creek rushes with impetuous force, for 
many hundred feet, to the valley below. At the Falls it passes over a pre- 
cipice forming a beautiful cascade. The name of the Falls is derived from 
the fact that at certain hours, when the sun is in the right position to pro- 
duce such an effect, a beautiful rainbow may be seen. 

The Garden of the Gods will, of course, be visited. Here massive rocks, 
of a bright red color, rise from a level, grass-covered plain to a height of 330 
feet and form a rude but magnificent gateway to the open field beyond, where 
the finest views of Pike's Peak and many other points of interest are obtained. 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 261 




Here one seems to stand in the presence of the supernatural in its greatest 
majesty. The wildness and grandeur are indescribable. The grotesque 
figures which seem to be carved upon these massive walls, the immense rocks 
of all conceivable forms, the numerous pillars rising like monuments toward 
the sky, the grand, almost awful surroundings, make a picture which language 
is powerless to portray. 

Toltec Gorge, on the Silverton branch of the Denver and Rio Grande 
Railroad and a little more than 300 miles from Denver, is another, and an 
important, point of interest in this land of wonderful views. For miles before 
this point is reached the scenery is sublime. There is a gradual increase of 
wildness, a steady rising to greater heights, 
the chasms sink to more appalling depths, 
the mountains present a more rugged ap- 
pearance. Near Toltec station the road 
passes through a tunnel cut through the 
massive cliff. At one end of this tunnel a 
bridge spans the fearful chasm, here, by 
actual measurement, 1,100 feet in depth. At 
some points, where the road runs near the 
edge, the gorge is said to be 1,500 feet deep. 
When these spots are safely passed, as they 
always have been, even the most experi- 
enced traveller feels a sense of relief. 

A short distance west of this tunnel, 
and only a few feet from the track, stands 
a massive granite monument erected by garfield memorial. 

members of the National Association of General Passenger and Ticket Agents 
of the railroads of the United States in memory of the late President Gar- 
field. Representatives of this Association held memorial services here on 
the day of his burial, September 26th, 1881. Excursionists from many differ- 
ent States participated with them in the mournful and impressive exercises. 

Among the grandest of the natural plienomena of the region is the Grand 
Canon of the Arkansas. This is a marvellous gorge, eight miles in length, 
through which the Arkansas River finds its way on its journey of more than 
2,000 miles to the point at which it enters the Mississippi. It is traversed 
by the main line of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, lies between Canon 
City -and Parkdale, the former station being 161 miles from Denver. A few 



► A 



262 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 



miles beyond Canon City the opening of the gorge appears. Vast piles of 
sandstone and limestone rocks rise abruptly from the riv^er banks. A narrow- 
defile is entered. Precipitous walls arise on either side. They rapidly in- 
crease in height. The effect of this increasing altitude upon the traveller is 
peculiar. He seems to be going dow'nward. Instead of the mountains only 
becoming higher from their bases the road-bed also seems to be settling into 
the depths of the earth. The roar of the river mingles with the noise of the 

train and the sound is 
thrown back by the mas- 
sive walls. Both sights 
and sounds soon become 
almost oppressive. 

At length the train 
swings around a long 
curve, by which it avoids 
the mountain wall which 
lay directly in its path, 
and heads in quite a dif- 
ferent direction. Here 
we come to the mighty 
cliffs of the Royal Gorge. 
The best view is secured 
from the celebrated 
hanging bridge. Here 
the walls of the chasm 
rise in inconceivable 
grandeur 2,600 feet above 
the track and seem to 
almost pierce the sky. 
The fearful heights, the 
tremendous depths, the sunlight and the shadows, the rush of the river and 
the sweep of the train as it passes through this terrific chasm, make a picture 
which will remain in the mind forever, but which it is an utterh- hopeless 
task to attempt to describe. What fearful convulsions of nature must have 
been required to throw up these ponderous walls thousands of feet toward 
the heavens and cleave this miraculous gorge for main- miles through the 
very heart of the mountain range ! The first view of these sublime scenes is 




c;kand canon ok tiik Arkansas. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 263 

almost overpowering. There is something terrible in their majestic grandeur. 
Familiarity with the region relieves this impression in some degree, but the 
feeling of amazement is never effaced. However frequently the scenes may 
be viewed, or memory may bring them to mind, the emotion of \\'onder 
remains constant and undi- 
minished. 

The caiion does not end 
with the gorge but continues 
for miles beyond. The river 
plunges over precipices or 
rushes madly down steep de- 
scents. It flows for most of 
the distance between rocky 
walls which rise in vast piles 
and irregular outline, but 
near the western portion 
there is an opening through 
which beautifijl views are 
obtained. 

A branch railroad runs 
up to some iron mines a few- 
miles away. This road is 
said to have the steepest 
ascent in the world of any- 
road on which the engines 
do not have cog-wheels. The 
grade is 406 feet per mile. 
The ascent with empty cars 
is difficult. The descent 
with cars loaded with ore is 
not only difficult but dan- 
gerous. The ore is of excel- 
lent quality and is easily secured. While the branch road was built to accom- 
modate the mining business it is also used to quite an extent in transporting 
marble and lumber to the main line. 

In the western portion of Colorado, the capital of the county, and the 
principal town in the section, is Gunnison, a place which the tourist in this 










'^^ 



THE ROYAL GORGE. 



264 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



region should certainly visit. It is beautifully located jn the midst of a large 
park lying about 8,000 feet above the level of the sea. Abundance of pure 
water flows from the streams which pass near by and which just below the 
town unite to form the Gunnison River. 

The region of which Gunnison forms the business centre was not opened 
•" " " ^^1 for settlement until 1872. 

^J Various parties had made 
partial explorations, and 
- a few had attempted min- 
^1 ing, but Indian outrages 
and massacres were so 
frequent that the section 
was practically abandoned 
by white men. About 
that time a party from 
Denver commenced min 
ing near Rock Creek and 
were so successful that 
others soon came to 
search for gold. An agri- 
cultural colony located in 
the region in 1874. On 
-- -S?^' account of the great in- 
tercst in the Leadville 
mines, and the difificulty 
of reaching the new set- 
tlement, the mining inter- 
ests in the Gunnison dis- 
trict were not developed 
to any great extent for 
sSr, several years. But du;- 
GUNNisoN-s BUTTE. i„g ^1^^ p^g^ dccade thcy 

have attracted more attention and the town has been growing in size and 
increasing in business importance. 

From Gunnison a branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad runs 
northward about twenty miles to Crested Butte, a peculiar peak of gray 
stone rising to a considerable height from a base covered with trees and 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 265 
plants and forming an attractive and prominent feature of the landscape even 
.n tl„s region of attractions. Near ,l,is point the first permanent settlement 
.n the reg,on uas made. There is now a good hotel and quite a smart little 
V lage The ch.ef mines, in fact the only ones at this particular point, are 
of coal. These are of considerable extent and, as the quality of the coal is 
excellent, they are also of great value. 

One of the peculiar features of the Rocky Mountain region is the marked 




esemblance „, form and appearance of rocks to objects of almost every 
k.nd Th,s ,s not characteristic of any one place in particular, but is seen 

n the vanous caflons, upon the faces of clififs, in masses of rocks rising from 
the bank of a r.ver or piled on some lofty tableland-in fact this remarkable, 
and m frequent .nstances grotesque, feature is quite prominent throughout 
tiie whole section. 

At one point the tourist beholds an onthne clearly cut upon a mountain 



266 THE GREAT WONDERLAxNDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



side which reminds him of the Egyptian Sphinx, the riddle and the wonder 
of the ages. 

A still more sharph' defined outline is that of a face, almost human in its 
appearance, which projects from an immense clifT rising abruptly from the 
side of the track which the face overhangs. This peculiar formation has been 
named Mother Grundy. While it is far from beautiful it is so odd that it 
attracts the attention of all tourists who have the opportunity of seeing it. 
It was of formations of this class that a recent writer said, in a somewhat 

sarcastic vein, that " the 
multitude " are attract- 
ed largely by curiosity 
and while allowing 
views of exquisite beau- 
ty to pass unnoticed or 
uncared for " will go 
into ecstasies in the 
contemplation of a bi- 
zarre rock with a 
strange likeness to some 
familiar object." While 
this seems altogether 
too sweeping a state- 
ment as applied to the 
great majority of tour- 
ists, there are many of 
whom it gives a \^ery 
accurate description, 

MOTHER GRl'NDY. j •. • , i. f 

and it pomts out one ot 
the strong tendencies of the mind which has not had the advantages of culture 
and of refined surroundings. It is not strange that these peculiar outlines and 
eccentric forms attract attention. They are " vagaries of Nature," it is true, 
and are very far below the order of her beautiful manifestations, but still 
there is something wonderful about them and they have a certain and a 
legitimate interest to every observer. 

Among the peculiar formations of the class just noticed Finger Rock is 
well worthy of an illustration. Tilted against a massive and ragged rock, 
above which it rises to a considerable height, it appears like an enormous 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 267 



finger pointing over the railroad track and the mountain peak just beyond, 
toward the sky. How it came in this form or in this position is a question 
which no one can solve. Here it is and here it has evidently been for ages. 
Here, too, it is likely to remain for ages to come. 

The Giant's Tea Kettle is a rugged mass of rock, nearly square in form, 
rising from the comparatively level surface of an ordinary butte. It received 
its name on account of its immense size and a resemblance, not very close 
but sufTficient to be suggestive, to a tea kettle. The number of these rude 
imitations of ordinary objects which the observing tourist will notice in a 
trip through this region is 



very great. Many of them 
have received names which 
have been accepted by the 
public and by which they 
are generally known. 
Others have, as yet, no 
names, but are merely the 
subjects of curiosity and 
conjecture. 

The tourist in Colorado 
should not fail to visit the 
justly celebrated resort 
called Idaho Springs. As 
far as fitting it for the pur- 
poses of a resort for plea- 
sure and also for those of 
a sanitarium, it is claimed that Nature has done more for this locality than she 
has for any other in the whole region of the Rocky Mountains. Man has 
also done his part and the result is a combination of attractions seldom found. 

Another point, greatly in favor of this locality, is that it is easily accessi- 
ble. It is only thirty-seven miles from Denver, a city which is called " the 
social and commercial centre " of Colorado and the surrounding region, and 
Avhich certainly is a beautiful and famous resort. It is laid out in an attractive 
manner and has a magnificent location more than 5,000 feet above the sea. 
It is said that from this point there is a clear view of the Rocky Mountains 
for a distance of almost 300 miles. The climate is unsurpassed and the city is 
well abreast of the times in the varied lines of conveniences and luxuries. 




M.XCKK ROCK. 



268 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



Yet, desirable as Denver is for a place of residence at all seasons of the 
year, the attractions of Idaho Springs are so great that numbers of the in- 
habitants of the former city spend more or less of the summer season at the 
latter resort. Here can be obtained all needed comforts. There are good 
hotels, pleasant cottages, and plenty of places where the traveller, whether 
he be poor or rich, can find excellent accommodations. The town lies in 
Clear Creek Canon 7,543 feet above the sea, and is sheltered by the walls 
which rise in beauty around it, their sides covered with trees which add 
greatly to the scenic attractions. There are many excellent roads and beau- 
tiful walks which lead to 



quiet glens and peaceful 
retreats only a little dis- 
tance from the Springs. 
The surrounding scenery 
is m a g n i fi c e n t . The 
mountains lying close 
around are beautiful, and 
many more distant peaks 
raise their towering heads 
in grandeur toward the 
heavens. 

The present location 
of Idaho Springs was a 
small mining camp as re. 
cently as i860. At about 
that time gold was found 
in considerable quantities, and though the methods at first employed in ob- 
taining it were necessarily superficial, the results were so satisfactory that 
machinery was soon introduced and improved processes adopted. Some of 
the mines are very near the town and may easily be reached on foot. Others 
are to be reached on horseback. The paths are good and the ride in the 
pure mountain air will prove both invigorating and delightful. Some of these 
mines yield a remarkably rich ore. As high as sixty per cent of gold, it is 
said, has been obtained from ore mined near the town. As they are freely 
open to the inspection of visitors, these mines form popular places of resort 
for parties not familiar with life in the mining regions. 

But while Idaho Springs, as a town, owes its existence to the mines, they 




GIANT S TEA KETILK. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 269 

are very far from constituting its chief attraction at the present time. The 
waters of the numerous mineral springs have proved wonderfully efficacious 
in the treatment of various forms of disease. They were discovered by pro- 
spectors in search for gold and soon became popular. There are both hot 
and cold springs, and in the side of one of the mountains, there is a boiling 
spring, close by which a house has been erected in which vapor baths are 
given. There are also a number of bath houses near other springs. In the 




CHICAC.O I AKE. 



pools at these places thousands of people bathe every year. Among them 
are large numbers of invalids, many of whom receive speedy and permanent 
relief from their physical ailments. The baths at the hot springs are kept 
open during the winter and the others are open nearly all the year. 

The waters of many of the springs are used for drinking as well as bath- 
ing. Analyses have shown their chemical elements to be very nearly the 
same as are those of the world-famed Carlsbad Springs in Bohemia, and their 
effects m the treatment of disease seem to be equally prompt and permanent. 



270 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

The purity of the air, the freedom from dampness and from cold winds, and 
the almost continual sunshine during the day followed by delightfully cool 
nights, are also important aids in the restoration of health to invalids, and in 
promoting the comfort of the well. It is claimed that there is no other town 
in the Rocky Mountain region which is favored with so many cloudless days 
as are enjoyed at Idaho Springs. 

A short but very pleasant trip from Idaho Springs may be made to 
the Chicago Lakes — a distance of some twelve or fifteen miles. The trip can 
be made on horseback, or, most of the way, by carriage. There are four lakes 
in the group. In the vicinity of the lower ones, the famous painter Bierstadt 
made the sketches for his wonderful picture of a " Storm in the Rocky 
Mountains." The lower lake is extremely beautiful. It receives its water 
from the upper lake which is near by. There is a rapid descent for quite a 
distance, which is followed by an abrupt fall of about fifty feet. This lake 
covers an area of about eighty acres. Dead Man's Lake, also one of the 
group, is very pretty in spite of its unpleasant name. In each of these lakes 
the water is clear and deep. Trout are abundant and the tourist will find at 
either of the three an excellent place either for a boat ride or for fishing. 

It is around the fourth lake, however, that the deepest interest centres. 
This lake is about ii,ooo feet above the sea, and has the greatest altitude of 
any lake in North America. It lies almost at the top of Mount Rosalie, a 
pretty peak, from which a fine view may be obtained. The surface of the 
lake is covered, even in summer, with ice five feet in thickness. Lying in its 
frozen splendor the lake forms a natural gem as beautiful as it is unique. 

Another pleasant trip, of about nine miles, from Idaho Springs, may be 
made to Echo Lake, a pretty sheet of water covering an area of fifty acres 
and lying about 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. It is in a region 
largely covered by a dense pine forest. Upon one side there is a mountain 
wall about 1,500 feet in height. On the other sides there is a fine beach with 
clear sand. For the fisherman this is one of the best resorts in the whole sec- 
tion. The lake has been freely and repeatedly stocked with trout during the 
past few years. They have grown rapidly, and fishes of large size and the 
finest quality are now obtained in great numbers, and with little difficulty. 
On the shore of the lake a house has been erected, boats and tackle have 
been provided, and ample accommodations for fishing parties may be found 
at all times. 

On the elevated plains and the mountain peaks of this section are some of 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 271 

the finest hunting grounds in the world. Game of various kinds, from the 
rabbit to the gnzzly bear and the mountain lion, may be found in abundance 
The more ferocious animals inhabit the higher points in the rugged mountain 
ranges. The elk and the black-tailed deer are found along the streams and 
at a high altitude. The mountain sheep, one of the prizes dearest to the 
hunter, is also found in elevated localities. The antelope, which is almost as 




FEEDING GROUND OF THE ANTELOPE. 

popular with the hunter, is found in the ravines which are common in the 
high plains of this mountainous region. 

Colorado has several elevated points which are surrounded by high moun- 
tain peaks. These beautiful valleys are called parks and are among the most 
attractive portions of the State. The North Park, lying near the northern 
boundary of the State, is reached by stage from Fort Collins, a station on the 
Colorado Central Railroad. The principal points are Mason City, and Tyner. 



272 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC; 



The former is 80 miles and the latter 125 miles from Fort Collins. This 
Park is celebrated for the immense numbers of the antelope and elk which 
it sustains. It is one of the finest hunting grounds, for this kind of game, 
which the world affords. The park is about seventy-five miles long and fifty 

miles wide, is 
surrounded 
by the rug- 
ged peaks of 
the Rocky 
Mountains, 
and contains 
many scenes 
of beauty and 
grandeur. 
The average 
altitude is 
about 9,000 
feet. Many 
beautiful 
springs, some 
of them 
strongly im- 
pregnated 
with mineral 
substances, 
are found within its limits. Even 
if we leave out of view the splen- 
did opportunities for hunting and 
fishing, we have a remarkabl}- at- 
tractive locality. For " camping 
out " it is one of the finest places 
which can be found. Whether he 
SNOW RANGE, KKoM JAMES TRAIL. sccks rcst Or rccrcation, or both 

combined, the tourist will here be able to gratify his taste and to spend 
his time pleasantly and profitably. 

Just south of this beautiful locality, and separated from it by a chain of 
mountains, is Middle Park. This is nearly as large as North Park, being 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 273 

seventy miles long by fifty miles wide, and is also a popular resort for sports- 
men. There are immense forests, between which are broad tracts of open 
land covered with luxuriant grass and with wild flowers of many varieties and 
of almost every conceivable color. There are also some Hot Sulphur Springs 
which are reached by stage from Georgetown, a distance of forty-five miles, 
and which are quite popular with tourists. The mountain scenery, like that 
of all this region, is simply magnificent. 

Still farther south is the South Park of Colorado, which, though smaller, 
is called more beautiful than any of the other parks in the State. It is sixty 
miles long by thirty miles wide, and is easily accessible from Denver by the 
South Park division of the Union Pacific Railroad, which connects Denver 
with Leadville and passes directly through the park. The chief town is Fair- 
play, from which point excursions are made to Mount Lincoln, the highest 
peak in the Colorado group of mountains. From the summit of this peak a 
beautiful and extensive view is obtained. The ascent can be made without 
difficulty. Another popular excursion is to the Twin Lakes, which lie thirty- 
five miles from Fairplay. In the southern part of the State is the largest 
of the four principal parks embraced within its area. It is known as the San 
Luis Park and lies 7,000 feet above the sea level, while the surrounding moun- 
tains rise to from 4,000 to 7,000 feet above the park itself. Its area is about 
twice as large as that of the State of Massachusetts. The soil is fertile, the 
pasturage rich, and the climate is so mild that cattle can live through the 
winter without shelter. In some portions of the park there are immense for- 
ests. Near the centre of the park is the San Luis Lake, which receives the 
water of nineteen streams which flow from the snow-crowned mountains by 
which the valley is walled. The scenery is very fine and the region is easily 
reached by the Silverton branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. 
The distance from Denver is about 250 miles. 

While most of the places to which we have referred are either settled or 
are points within easy reach of cities or towns, there are almost innumerable 
localites in the vast region of the Rocky Mountains which are drear and 
desolate. Enormous mountains seem thrown together in irregular masses. 
Their sides for many hundred feet are covered with snow to a great depth 
and white and glistening crowns always cover their heads. They are beauti- 
ful in their wildness, magnificent in their rugged outlines. Their silent 
grandeur is impressive and fills the thoughtful mind with wonder and with 
awe. 



274 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



Along the banks of the Green River, and also near the town of that name 
in Wyoming Territory, many fine scenes appear. The clay butteis around the 
town are peculiar both in form and color. A few miles away are mines from 
which a fine quality of coal is obtained. The town is small but the station of 
the Union Pacific Railroad is an important one, as here the trains which are to 
diverge from the main line at Granger, a little farther w^est, and run to Port- 
land, Oregon, are made up. 

Not far from Evanston, a smart little town in Wyoming, which is perched 
■on the mountain 6,759 ^^^^ above the sea and has a population numbering 

about 3,000, the road be- 
gins to descend toward 
the west and enters one 
of the most attractive re- 
gions on the continent. 
The town itself has many 
features of interest, in- 
cluding mineral springs 
which flow from a lime- 
stone formation. 

But the principal in- 
terest of the region cen- 
tres in Echo Canon, at 
the extreme eastern por- 
tion of Utah Territory. 
While somewhat resem- 
giant's cutp, green Rn^R. bling the others, it is in 

some respects the most wonderful of all the magnificent gorges in this wild 
section. A celebrated traveller asserts that he found nothing equal to it, 
even in the great Himalaya Range of Asia, and declares that " Echo Canon 
is one of the masterpieces of Nature." The testimony of other travel- 
lers whose opportunities for observation have been extensive is uniformly 
to the effect that this canon is one of the most wonderful works of Nature 
which they ever beheld. The caiion extends about thirty miles, and though 
there are many changes of scene, there is never a loss of interest on the 
part of the observer. 

Soon after entering the canon the train passes through a tunnel 900 feet 
in length — a somewhat difficult and a very expensive portion of the road to 




NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 275 



construct. Numerous bridges will also be noticed in this vicinity. These 
are made necessary by the fact that the railroad crosses Echo Creek thirty- 
one times in a distance of only twenty-six miles. 

One of the noticeable features along this route is the presence of numer- 
ous pillars of rock which have, by the action of the elements, been carved 
into most peculiar forms. For how many ages these massive pillars have 
been wearing away under the corroding action of sunshine, wind, rain, and 
frost, no one can tell. Geologists, however, are of the opinion that this por- 
tion of the continent was one of the first to emerge from the water which had 
previously covered the 
globe, and it is highly prob- 
able that the "tooth of 
time " has here been work- 
ing much longer than it 
has in other sections of the 
country. 

One of the first of the 
special features of the 
canon which will attract the 
attention of the tourist will 
be Castle Rock, a large and 
peculiar mass of rock which 
lias a strongly marked r.e- 
semblance to a castle. 
This is one of the most per- 
fect of these peculiar for- tower rock, echo canon. 
mations, and but for its immense size might well pass for a construction of 
man instead of a phenomenon of nature. In this region are numerous fossil 
remains which are of great interest to scientists. Skeletons of several species 
of animals long since extinct have been unearthed. Among them are part 
•of the bones of a six-horned rhinoceros, an animal of enormous size, which 
must have disappeared from this region thousands of years ago. The cliffs 
at the opening of the caiion are of a grayish tinge, but as we proceed they 
become nearly red. Upon the lower ones, which are nearest the open land, 
trees of various kinds appear. But farther along the canon the cliffs are 
higher, more rugged in outline, and more barren in appearance. 

Upon these cliffs the Mormons erected a number of fortifications in 1857, 




2/6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR R'EPUBLIC: 



when they were in conflict with the Government of the United States, and 
the remains of their rude constructions may still be seen. Another reminder 
of the Mormon settlement of the region is seen at Pulpit Rock, a massive pile 
of stone which has been often described. Its name is said to be due to the 
fact that in form it somewhat resembles a pulpit, and to the tradition that 
from its heights Brigham Young preached the first sermon which he delivered 
in Utah. The canon was the line of the old wagon road through this section. 
Freight was carried in wagons drawn by large teams of oxen, while passengers 
and baggage were taken by horses or mules. While it was by far the best 

route in the section, prog- 



ress was necessarily slow 
and toilsome. But now all 
is changed. The trip is 
made in luxurious cars 
which are drawn rapidly, 
even over the sharpest 
grades, by the tireless loco- 
motive. 

Leaving Echo Canon we 
pass into a more open re- 
gion which extends for sev- 
eral miles. This is the 
Weber Valley, fresh and 
fair, with a peaceful river 
flowing through it, and 
with numerous trees dot- 
ting its surface. The massive peaks which, at no great distance, rise from 
the plain show the traveller that the elevated region is not yet passed, but 
that this level spot is only a little intervale in the midst of the mountains. 
Beautiful in itself, it becomes doubly attractive by reason of its peculiar loca- 
tion. The valley is soon left behind and Weber Caflon, a close rival of Echo 
Cafion, is entered. 

The entrance to the cailon from the east is termed Wilhelmina Pass. It 
forms a natural gateway between the hills or bluffs and furnishes just room 
enough for the wagon-road, the railroad, and the stream, to pass through. 
At a short distance to the west we come to The Devil's Slide, said to be the 
" most singular object of all the sportive creations of Nature in the West." 




CASTLE ROCK. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 277 



While it can neither be termed grand nor beautiful, it is certainly unique and 
presents a wonderfully fantastic appearance. The mountain upon which it 
appears is about 800 feet in height, and is composed, principally, of sand- 
stone, which is of a dark-red color. Its side is covered with sage brush in- 
terspersed with bunches of scrub oak, and a few tall pine trees. From tj-.e 
side of this red mountain, two walls, so gray as to be almost white, run from 
the bank of the river to the top of the peak. These walls are from twenty to 
forty feet high, are parallel with each other, and lie some twenty feet apart. 
This curious freak of the natural world is clearly reflected in the waters of 
the stream and attracts more 
attention than almost any 
other feature of the whole 
region. 

Only about a mile from 
the curiosity just noted is a 
large tree which stands by 
itself quite near the track. 
Although there is nothing 
peculiar about the appear- 
ance of the tree it receives "^^^f's^Ml^^''"''^]- 
a great deal of notice from ^mH^^^^'i^ 'i^»W 
the fact that it stands just 
1,000 miles from Omaha. A 
painted sign has been placed 
upon one of the limbs so 
that the tree may be readily 
identified. 

The train passes through two tunnels of considerable extent, and crosses 
the stream several times within the limits of this canon. The wagon road is 
also crossed at many points as it winds around among the cliffs in search. of 
the easiest grade. Both roads were constructed under circumstances of 
great difficulty and the railroad was built at an enormous expense. 

The number of interesting objects to be seen in passing through the canon 
is quite large, and the tourist who has once made the survey will be ready to 
pronounce it a region of wonders. When we come to the western end the 
beautiful Salt Lake Valley opens into view. Ogden, with its bustle and 
energy, its railroad and miniijg interests, and its surrounding agricultural 




THE DEVIL S SLIDE. 




APPKOACHIJJG THE SIERRAS. 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 279 



region, is close at hand, and will attract attention. Farther on lies the 
famous lake, and in the still more distant west several ranges of mountains, 
rear their vast yet beautiful forms. Along the streams we have traversed, 
and in those which are too far distant from the railroad for the traveller on a 
through train to observe, are many beautiful cascades, and numberless quiet 
glens. All through the various canons, 
in all the open land, upon the elevated 
plains, in the valleys lying thousands 
of feet below the surrounding mount- 
ains, and upon the massive peaks which 
almost pierce the sky, scenes of beauty 
abound. Their forms are diverse. 
Their variety is almost infinite. But in 
some of its manifestations beauty ap- 
pears on every hand. 

In the region of the Rockies, and 
beyond their massive forms, are found 
some of the greatest scenic attractions, 
not merely of this country, but of the 
world. Beauty, grandeur, sublimity, 
magnificence — all abound. The travel- 
ler is both delighted and amazed. 
Though the scene is constantly being 
shifted and changed as the train rolls 
along, it never grows tame or uninter- 

,• -ri • • 1 r I ■ i1 NFVADA FALIh 

estmg. 1 he region iswonderiul m the 

number, as well as in the character of its charms. Peo 
pie who have travelled extensively in other lands, and who 
have observed closely, assert that they have seen nothing 
abroad which, all things considered, can equal this section 
of the United States. Foreigners seem fully as enthusiastic 
as our own people in describing the natural scenery of this remarkable region. 
It is a matter for deep regret, as well as for great surprise, that large 
numbers of the people of this country go abroad every year to behold the 
famous scenery of Europe who have never enjoyed a visit to the magnificent 
regions in the western portion of their native land, m.any features of which 
are well illustrated in the following gallery of full-page engravings. 





DEVIL S GATE, WEBER CANON. 




CUKltECAKTI NEEDLE, BLACK CANON. 




MAKBLE PINNACLE, COLORADO KIVEK 




ITLl'IT KoCK, KClIo CAiNUN. 




TULTEU GOKGE. 




BLACK CAtoN OF THE GUNNISON. 




THK I'ALISADES, WEST OK ALPINE TUNNEL. 





V 




'd^ff^^rr^r^t^^^iV^ 










PALACE BUTTE. 





'C 



»► 4 





GK-\JS'D CA??ON. FKOM TO-Ku-'\V ASP. 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 



?97 



The foregoing sketches and accompanying illustrations of the striking 
wonders and magnificent natural scenery of the Rocky Mountains should 
inspire every reader, particularly every American, with an ardent desire to 
make a tour through this far-famed and really marvellous region. 




UTAH AND THE GREAT SALT LAKE 

HE Territory of Utah is more widely known in foreign lands, and 
is probably the centre of a deeper interest at home, than any other 
Territory in the United States. This interest is largely due to the 
peculiar views and methods of life of a large portion of its inhabitants. But 
aside from its singular 
social and political con- 
' dition, the tourist to this 
region will find many at- 
tractions. 

The Rocky Mount- 
ain range lies away to 
the east, the Sierra Ne- 
vada to the west, while 
the Wasatch Range pas- 
ses through the Terri- 
tory from north to south. 
There are many elevated 
peaks, some of them ris- 
ing to a height of 13,000 
feet, and several mount- 
ain chains distinct from 
and having a less eleva- 
tion than the Wasatch. i>i ■^n m\n''s imi',. iiiiu < 01 ionwood cwon, utah. 

The plateaus vary greatly in the quality of their soil, some of them being 
entirely barren, while others are very productive. Rivers abound, and sev- 
eral canons from 2,000 to 5,000 feet in depth are found. To a great ex- 
tent it is a wild country. Game abounds and less desirable animals, as the 
bear, panther, wolf, and California lion, are numerous in some portions of 
the Territory. There are very sharp contrasts in scener}-, in climate, in so- 




3C0 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

ciety in fact, in everything pertaining either to the natural conditions or to 

the character of the civiHzation of the region. 

The tourist who enters Utah will certainly want to visit a few of the 
natural curiosities of the section and also the seat of the Mormon power at 
Salt Lake City. Many of the former will be seen on his trip to this remark- 
able city, and numerous others will come into view as he continues his jour- 
ney. The time will prove too limited to enable him to see all the wonders 
and curiosities which the region presents, but he should not fail to visit the 

Great Salt Lake and the 



famous Salt Lake City. 
The latter is reached 
by the Denver and Rio 
Grande Railroad, by the 
Utah Central, branching 
from the Union Pacific 
at Ogden, thirty-six 
miles distant, and by 
various other lines. 

The city need not be 
described at length in 
this connection. Per- 
haps it is hardly neces- 
sary, but it may be well 
to remind the tourist 
that he should take a 
look at the house long 

NEAR HK;H HKIIMIK, AMERICAN FORK CANON, UTAH. OCCUpicd bv Bricliam 

Young, a man whose zeal and skill in the management of a great social and 
religious organization wrought wonderful results. It is a neat and not at 
all a pretentious structure, pleasantly located and with very pretty surround- 
ings. The Tabernacle and the Temple will, of course, be visited. In look- 
ing over that portion of the community which holds the doctrines promul- 
gated b}' Young and his predecessors the visitor will find on every hand evi- 
d :nces of energy, industry, thrift, and general prosperity. The devotion of 
the people to the church and to the distinctive principles of their belief is 
remarkably strong and is v. ell worthy of imitation, while the progress and 
development of the theory and the practical results of their system furnish a 




302 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

wide and fruitful field of inquiry for the student of sociology, as well as an 
interesting subject of thought for every intelligent person. 

The Great Salt Lake, on the main line of the Denver and Rio Grande 
Railroad, is one of the marvellous natural features in this region of wonders 
and surprises. Lying in the great Fremont Basin at the foot of the Wasatch 
Mountains and eleven miles from Salt Lake City, it is easily reached and the 
trip, in open cars, is very pleasant. 

Li marked contrast with most of the lakes thus far described, the shores 
are destitute of trees. As the soil contains a large proportion of salt, and as 
fresh water cannot be obtained, it seems to be impossible to secure their 
growth. But while the shores are not as inviting as those of many other 
lakes, the fact is almost forgotten when one looks upon the beautiful and 
brilliant surface and then gazes upon the mighty mountain peaks which, at 
no great distance, stand as silent and tireless sentinels on every hand. 

As the name indicates, the \\'ater of this lake is scrongl)- impregnated w ith 
salt. It also contains, in small proportions, the sulphates of soda and potash, 
chloride of magnesium, and sulphate of lime. Consequently, it is very dense 
and extremely bitter. Swimming is somewhat difificult on account of the 
density of the water, but it is perfectly eas}' to float upon it for an indefinite 
time. On account of the mineral matters which it contains, great care must be 
taken not to swallow the water. Neglect of this precaution will make the 
throat and lungs very sore, and if any considerable quantity of the fluid is 
swallowed the consequences are likely to be serious, and may possibly prove 
fatal. 

The density of the water is about the same as that of the Dead Sea. 
While no animal life is found in the latter, it is, in certain forms, quite abun- 
dant in the Great Salt Lake. An effort has recently been made by the 
United States Fish Commissioners to introduce food-fishes, but it is uncertain 
as yet whether it will be successful. As the w ater contains more than twenty 
percent of common salt, this lake is likel}' to become one of the chief sources 
of supph' of this important article to the whole western region. Already, by 
the primitixe method of merely inclosing the water in small arms of the lake 
and allowing the process of evaporation to remo\-e the liquid portion, thou- 
sands of tons of a very fair qualit\' of salt are obtained every year. V.'ith 
improved methods vast quantities might be easil}- and profitably secured. 

The area of the lake is about 2,000 square miles. It is seventy miles in 
length and more than forty miles in breadth, and lies more than 4,000 feet 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 303 

above the sea level. The depth of the water varies from ten feet in some 
portions to fifty or sixty feet in others, and is thought to be steadily increas- 
ing. It has a large number of rocky islands. A few of them are of consider- 
able size and are used for sheep and cattle pastures. At the upper part of 
the lake, gulls and pelicans breed in large numbers. A line of steamers runs 
to and from various points on the shores and is liberally patronized by 
tourists. 

If not closely pressed for time, the tourist will hardly fail to visit the mag- 
nificent canons for which this Territor)- is famed. And even if his visit must 
be hurried and his stay limited, it will pay him well to make a brief stop at 
one or two of the leading gorges. Here he will see nature in beauty, glory, 
and majesty combined. And whether his call is brief or is extended to many 
da\-s, he w^ill enjoy himself greatly while there, and will leave the vicinity 
with sincere regret. 



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 




OME portions of the wonderful region of the Yellowstone were v^is- 
ited by a few travellers previous to 1S63, but the reports which 
they made were so wonderful that they were generally disbelieved. 
During the next few years other visitors returned with equally marvellous 
talcs. But it was not until 1870 that any organized expedition was attempted 
and not until the following )-ear that a scientific exploration of the region 
was made. Upon the return of the latter expedition Prof. F. V. Hayden, 
wlio had directed its work, made an interesting report of the discoveries 
which had been made. In this report the facts were set forth that the region 
explored contained little mineral wealth, that on account of the low tempera- 
ture in summer and the extreme cold of winter, the land would be useless for 
agricultural purposes and stock raising, and that because of its high altitude 
it was unfit for permanent settlement. It was further stated that because of 
the numerous and magnificent natural wonders which it contained the region 
should be withdrawn from private use and occupancy and reserved as a 
national park for the people at large. In February, 1872, the United States 
Congress passed an act by which the region which had been specified in the 
report was set apart " as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit 



304 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

and enjoyment of the people." This reservation is known as the Yellow- 
stone National Park. 

The Park is very nearly in the form of a rectangle. It measures 61.8 
miles in length, from north to. south, and 53.6 miles in width. Its area is 
3,312 square miles and its average elevation above the sea is more than one 
and a half miles. INIost of this reservation is located in Wyoming, but the 

northern portion, for 



a width of about two 
I miles, lies in Montana. 
The extreme western 
portion, for a width 
of about five miles, 
lies in Montana and 
Idaho. A number of 
mountain peaks rise 
to a height of ii.ooo 
feet above the sea, 
and the average ele- 
\'ation of the various 
ranges is from 9,000 
to 10,000 feet. Many 
r' tr9| streams of moderate 
size flow upon the ele- 
vated plateau, some 
S,ooo feet above the 
sea, but the large rivers 
flow in deep gorges 
rent through the 
mountain chains by 
some terrific con\'ulsion of Nature, or worn by the ceaseless flow of the 
water during countless ages of time. 

The completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1883 made a more 
direct railroad route to the National Park than had before existed, and it has 
been well patronized, thcnigh the L^nion Pacific road seems to have lost 
none of its custom or its popularity. The former road passes through Living- 
ston, Montana. P'rom this point a branch line, •' the standard gauge, has 
been built to Cinnabar, in the same State, a distance of fifty-one miles. This 




llDl STKIMiS, KIh;K I)K VI',I.I.i>\\ sliiM'. I'AKK. 




THE "GIANT GEYSER 



3o6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

is only about six miles from the Yellowstone National Park Hotel located at 
the Mammoth Hot Springs. Between these places travellers are conveyed by 
coaches. On arriving at the hotel they find themselves in a wonderful portion 




the globe. Indeed, 

with the exception 

of the " Southern 

Wonderland " in 

N c w Zealand, 

there is probably 

no extensive area 

in the world which __^_ 

can be fairh- com- mammoth hot springs, Yellowstone park. 

pared with this famous Park, which has been aptly termed the " Northern 

Wonderland." 

The Mammoth Hot Springs are located at the northern edge, and in the 
western portion of the Park. In point of grandeur they are said to be un- 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 307 



equalled in the world. The famous springs in New Zealand, and the still 
more widely-knovvTi geysers of Iceland, are far inferior in various respects, as 
well as very different in the chara-cter of the material which they deposit. 
Many of the springs are now inactive, some are exhibiting a marked decline 
in power, while a large number show no signs of failure. There are abun- 
dant evidences of great volcanic activity at a geological period not very far 
removed. The deposits from these springs are of a calcareous nature and 




PULPIT TERRACE, MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS. 



cover an area of from two to 
three square miles. The lower 
ones of the active springs are 
near the bank of Gardiner's 
River, 5,845 feet above the sea, 
while the others lie along the 
mountain side to nearly 1,000 
feet greater elevation. Thus 
the whole side of the mountain is covered with semicircular basins, with 
their edges raised from a few inches to eight feet in height, on which in 
bead-work form is a wealth of most beautiful tracery. The background is 
white as snow, and the adornments are traced in almost numberless colors 
and shades. These basins are from a few inches to several feet in diameter. 
The water flowing from a spring at the top down the side of the mountain 
passes from one basin to another, gradually parting with its heat and de- 
positing the calcareous matter which it contains. Near the top of the ridge 
the largest of the active springs in this locality is found. It is near the edge 



3o8 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

of a broad terrace upon which are the ruins of a large number of basins. 
The spring measures twenty-five by forty feet across the top. Its water is so 
transparent that the bottom of the basin can be clearly seen and the sides 
show the most beautiful ornamentation with calcareous deposits in an almost 
infinite variety of forms and numerous and diverse tints and colors. The 
ebullition of the springs in this neighborhood is continuous, but compared 
with that of many of those in other parts of the Park is slight in degree. The 
water here rises only a few inches above the surface. But the basins make 
up in beauty all that the springs lack in power. The dead springs, Vxhich are 
quite numerous, are also of great interest. One, called the " Liberty Cap," 




CRAIEK OF EXriNcr CKV^KR 



from the form of its cone, is forty-two feet high and at its base is about thirty 
feet in diameter. Within the limits of the Park there are from 5,000 to 
10,000 hot springs. In the region noted, the temperature of the springs is 
from 160° to 170'^. At this elevation water boils at 198° to 199°. 

The Geysers, or Spouting Springs, are even more wonderful than the hot 
springs which have been described. A large proportion of them are found in 
the vicinity of the Fire-Hole River, where they are divided into two groups 
and cover an area of some thirty square miles. The deposit from the A\aters 
of these springs is white, but differs from that of the other springs in that it i 
is composed of silica instead of calcareous matter. In the lower group is a 
spring from which the water rises to a height of sixty feet and many other 




UPPER YELLOW-STONE FALLS. 



3IO THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

springs of less power. The boiling springs in this vicinity number nearly 
700. RetAveen this and the upper group are the Half-way Springs, one of 
A\hich has a diameter of 250 feet with walls nearly twenty feet high. The 
water from this immense caldron constantly overflows, and the air is filled 
with steam which rises from its surface. Near by is the Excelsior Geyser, 
which is intermittent, but at the time of its outbreaks is very powerful. 

The ujiper group, located in what is known as the Great Geyser Basin, 
ranks as the most powerful and magnificent collection of spouting springs in 
the world. It occupies a strip of land on the river banks, varying in width 
from half a mile to a mile, and extending several miles in length. The total 
area occupied b}' the group is about three square miles. It contains more 
than 400 boiling springs and numerous springs of lower temperature and less 
activity. Of these springs twenty-six are large and powerful geysers. 

The Giant Geyser has a crater about ten feet in height, but one side has 
been broken down. The water is thrown from an orifice about five feet in 
diameter to a height of from 150 to 200 feet. Its eruptions occur at distant 
and irregular intervals and but few have been noted. The Castle Ge)'ser is 
also very powerful, sometimes throwing a column of water more than 200 
feet high and continuing in action more than a quarter of an hour. Near 
by is the famous hot spring called Circe's Boudoir. The basin is as white as 
marble, while the water is of an intenseh' blue color, and perfectl}' trans- 
parent. The Giantess is a strong geyser with irregular but remarkably pow- 
erful action. The basin is twent}--three by thirty-two feet and an immense 
volume of water is thrown from 60 to 200 feet in the air. The Grand Geyser 
differs from most of the others in having a depressed instead of an elevated 
basin. The orifice is four feet b}' two feet. An eruption occurs every 
twenty-four hours and the column of A\ater is sometimes thrown to a height 
of 250 feet. The geyser which attracts the most attention is probably Old 
Faithful, which stands at the head of the valley and received its name from 
the regularity of its eruptions, which occur about once an hour. A column 
of water about six feet in diameter is thrown from lOO to 150 feet in the air. 
The period of activ it}' is about five minutes. There are also many other 
interesting and important ge)'sers in this vicinit}', and several large groups 
in other portions of the Park, including a \ery beautiful collection near 
Shoshone Lake. Closely allied to them is the celebrated Mud Volcano, the 
most powerful of a large number of mud springs which appear near the 
Yellowstone River. The crater of this peculiar \olcano is about twent\'-five 




VIEWS OF "old faithful geysek. 



31- 



THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 



feet across. From the boiling mud,' lying some thirty feet below the surface, 
dense clouds of steam constantly ascend. Occasionally there is a violent 
outburst and large quantities of mud are thrown high in the air. 

The largest river in the domain, and one of the most remarkable in the 

countr}', is the Yellowstone. It rises in a lake 
of the same name \\hich lies in the south-east- 
ern portion of the Park. The stream called the 
Upper Yellowstone, which supplies the lake, flows 
only a short distance, but the main river has a 
course of 1,300 miles, when it empties into the 
Missouri. The Yellowstone is navigable for about 
300 miles. Along its entire course are beautiful 
scenes, and for long distances the views are mag- 




YELI.OWSTONE RIVER, NATIONAL PARK. 



nificent beyond description. The falls and the Grand Canon easily rank 
among the sublimest scenes of the world. 

The famous falls of the Yellowstone are some fifteen miles below the lake. 
The river is about 150 feet wide at this point and flows quietly through a 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 313 

beautiful valley until it almost reaches the brink of a precipice, down which it 
drops 112 feet. This cataract is known as the Upper Falls, and is remarka- 
bly beautiful. But the Lower Falls, a quarter of a mile beyond, are far 
more majestic. Between these falls the river becomes much wider and flows 
rapidly over a rocky bed until near the Lower Falls, when the channel is con- 
tracted and the water makes a terrific plunge of more than 300 feet. Al- 
though the body of water is much smaller and there is far less of the grand 
and overpowering in the scene, these falls are said, in point of beauty, to 















FKKRV ON THE YELLOWSTONE KIVEK. 



greatly surpass those of Niagara. The foot of the falls is always covered 
with a heavy mist and the massive wall at the west is clothed with green and 
luxuriant vegetation for its entire height. 

The Yellowstone Lake is a beautiful, and in point of outline, a very pecu- 
liar sheet of water. It is about twenty-two miles in length by twelve or 
fifteen miles in width and lies 7,738 feet above the sea level. With the ex- 
ception of two in South America, and two in Asia, no other lake of equal size 
is known to lie at so great an altitude. At a short distance from the lake, on 
the eastern side, are mountains whose tops are covered with perpetual snow. 



314 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC 






The water of the hike is clear and cold, and in some places is 300 feet in 
deptli. On account of its c^reat irregularity, having many projections and 

indentations, this 
lake has a shore line 
of more than 300 
;•* miles. There are 
man}' springs in the 
x'icinity, and in some 
jjortions dense for- 
ests of pine appear. 
The Grand Cahon 
furnishes some of 
the sublimest scen- 
ery of the continent. 
Though not equal 
in dimensions to- 
that of Colorado, it 
is not surpasseil in 
grandeur by that 
magnificent gorge, 
and in some respects 
is not equalled by 
its greatest ri\-al. 
It is about thirt)' miles long, and dur- 
ing its course the river descends some 
3.CXD0 feet. The massive rocks through 
which this tremendous cleft has been 
f' iiKulc are of \'olcanic origin. The mate- 
rials oi which the\' are composed have 
been thown out at various periods and 
are of very different degrees of hard- 
ness. Consequenth". the wearing away 
of the surfaces b\- water, and the dis- 
integration of exposed portions by the 
action of frost and wind, sunshine and 
storm, has been very irregular, and has left innumerable points and pinna- 
cles, and many fantastic forms and outlines Vet in some portions vast pil- 




KAI.I.S ^ll■ I III \ I I I 1 1\\ ■> I . 'M 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 315 

lars which remain arc so rci;ular in their form and so perfect in their pro- 
portions, that were it not for their gis^antic dimensions and brilliant hues, 
they woukl seem more like the work of some skilful human architect, than 
like the carvinj^s of Nature. 

But aside from their size these pillars far surpass the highest work of man. 
No human art could have given them their gorgeous coloring. Indeed, the 
whole chasm glows with an indescribable wealth of the richest colors blended 
with the softest shades. An able writer has said, " It is as though rainbows 
hatl fallen out of the sk\' and hung theniselves there like glorious banners. 
... It is impossible that even the pen of an artist can tell it. What you 
would call, accustomed to the softer tints of nature, a great exaggeration, 
would be the utmost tameness compared with the realit}-. It is as though 
the most glorious sunset you ever saw had been caught and held upon that 
resplendent, awful gorge." The greatest artists admit that here are "the 
most brilliant colors that the human eye ever saw " and that the beauty of 
their tints is far beyond the skill of human art to attain. These magnifi- 
cently colored walls of rock, rising almost perpendicularly to a height of 
from 800 to 1,200 feet, present a scene of grandeur and beaut\' combined 
which never has been, and never can be, adequately described. 

At the lower portion of the Grand Canon a stream called Tower Creek 
empties into the Yellowstone River. Its name is due to the fact that near 
the falls, for which it is also noted, are large numbers of massive columns. 
The falls are only about 200 yards from the junction of the creek with the 
river. The water has a direct fall of 156 feet, and the falls and their sur- 
roundings are remarkably beautiful and picturesque. The gigantic pillars 
rise from the foot of the falls to a height of fifty feet above the top of the 
precipice. There are also several rows of massive columns, arranged in reg- 
ular order along the walls of the canon onl}- a short distance from the falls. 

Among tli«e other places of interest are the Gibbon Canon and Falls, both 
remarkable for their beauty and grandeur. At the falls a considerable body 
of water plunges over a precipice 160 feet in height. 

Only a few of the almost numberless attractions of the great National 
Park have been named. For anything approaching an exhaustive descrip- 
tion volumes would be required. But enough has been said to show that it 
is a marvellous region both in the character and the profusion of its natural 
curiosities. Within its comparativeh' small area are to be found a larger 
number of hot springs and geysers than in all the remainder of the world, 



3i6 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

and it is doubtless within the limits of the truth to assert that " in its special 
range of phenomena it has no rival upon the earth." 




It is extremely fortunate that 

the United States (government 

promptly took possession of this 

marvellous region, thus saving it 

from the hands of x-andals who would 

^S have defaced its curiosities, and from 

^S the grasp of speculators who would 

cLiFi- I.N I. KAMI CANON OK THK vEi.Luw b 1 o., t. havc charged enormous prices for 

permission to view its principal attractions. It is now the property of the 

people, held for their use, and free to all. It is also a matter for rejoicing 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 317 

that the Pacific Railroads have been completed and that thus a way of 
reaching the Park quickly, easily, and economically, has been provided. 
While the commercial benefits conferred by these roads are beyond compu- 
tation, they are also rendering an invaluable service in making accessible to 




the people the most 
magnificent pleasure 
ground in the world. 

The Park is under 
governmental supervi- 
sion. Leases of land for the erection of suitable buildings are issued where 
structures are required for the public accommodation, roads and bridle paths 
are constructed, and fish and game are preserved from wanton destruction. 



FALLS OF THE GIBBON RIVER, NATIONAL PARK. 



3i8 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

For " camping out " no better place can be found, while for those who prefer 
a different mode of life, there are hotels which supply everything necessary 
for their accommodation and comfort. A trip to the Park involves much 
less expense than one to foreign lands ; it has fewer annoyances, and gives 
fi-rander scenes and sublimer views than can there be obtained. So, while a 
foreign trip is desirable, the wise tourist will form an acquaintance with the 
wonders of his native land before seeking the great, but still inferior, attrac- 
tions of the beautiful countries across the sea. 



THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 




HE famous Yosemite, which for scenic attractions is "matchless 
among the valleys of the world," is situated in Mariposa Count}', 
i California. It lies west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and, 
measuring from north to south, in about the centre of the State. It is about 
150 miles from San Francisco, but is reached from that city by a circuitous 
route of 220 miles. The direction is slightly south of east. It had long been 
the refuge of predatory bands of Indians, and was discovered, in i85i,by 
white men in pursuit of some of the plunderers of their settlements near the 
mining camps in the Mariposa region. F'rom the report which these dis- 
covers gave of the wonders of the region, many people were induced to visit 
it, and in a few years it became a famous resort. In 1864 the Congress of 
the United States donated to the State of California this wonderful valley 
to be held as a place of public resort, and to be " inalienable for all time." 
The property is controlled by commissioners appointed by the governor of 
the State. They have power to lease portions of the valley and expend the 
money thus obtained in making desirable improvements and rendering the 
attractions more easily accessible. Prix'ate parties have also done a great 
deal in the way of building wagon roads and in making trails up some of the 
principal elevations in the vicinity. In 1886 a branch railroad, twenty-two 
miles in length, was opened from Berenda, on the Central Pacific line, to 
Raymond, from which point there is a stage line direct to the \'alley. 

The Yosemite Valley is about six miles in length and from one-half mile 
to almost two miles in \\'idth. Its granite walls rise almost vertically to a 
height of from 3,000 to 6,000 feet. On account of the narrowness of the 
valley this enormous elevation of the walls appears much greater than it 




BPIDAL VEIL FALLS, YOSKMITK VALLEY. 



320 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

would if they were more widely separated. The walls, too, have a clean rise 
from the bottom of the valley instead of being piled to quite a height with 
fragments which have been separated from them by the action of the ele- 
ments, as is the case with many high cliffs in other localities. 

Among the principal attractions of the valley is the massive rock, El 
Capitan. This is not nearly as high as some of the other cliffs, though it 
reaches an altitude of 3,300 feet. But its sides are entirely bare and smooth, 
and it forms one of the most imposing rocks in the world. Just across tlie 
valley is the Bridal Veil Fall, one of the most beautiful cascades ever seen. 
The water of a creek of the same name has a clear fall of 630 feet, striking a 
pile of debris and then falling about 300 feet additional, making a total fall of 
more than 900 feet. Its name is due to the fact that sometimes the wind causes 
the stream of water to flutter like a white veil. Just below El Capitan, and on 
the same side of the valley, is a fall of more than 1,000 feet which is beautiful 
in the spring, but the stream which feeds it is entirely dry in the summer. 
This is known as the Virgin's Tears Fall. Near the Bridal Veil Fall are the 
famous Cathedral Rocks. They are formed by an enormous, and almost 
vertical cliff, rising to the height of 2,660 feet and divided by a clear cut 
notch. Farther up the valley may be seen the Three Brothers, a group of 
enormous pillars, the highest of which reaches an altitude of 3,830 feet. 
From the summit of this great rock a magnificent view of the valley is ob- 
tained. Almost opposite this group is a mighty clifT from which towers a 
granite obelisk which resembles a watch tower, and is called the Sentinel 
Rock. From the foot of this rock to the summit is more than 3,000 feet. 

The Yosemite Falls, regarded by many visitors as the chief attraction of 
the valley, are opposite the Sentinel Rock. Here the water of the Yosemite 
Creek passes over the northern wall of the vallc}\ The descent is b}' two 
magnificent falls and a series of cascades, and measures 2,600 feet. The first 
descent is a vertical fall of 1,500 feet, then comes a series of cascades by 
which a level 626 feet lower is reached, from which point the water takes its 
final fall of over 400 feet. At the head of the falls the water is, in the early 
summer, about two feet deep and the stream is from twenty feet to twent\-- 
five feet wide. Late in the season, however, the volume of water is greatly 
decreased. It has been asserted that " no other cataract in the world can 
compare with this in height and romantic beauty." 

The falls of the Merced River are also remarkable. The upper one, 
known as the Nevada Fall, has a descent of about 600 feet. The lower, or 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 321 

Vernal Fall, is about 400 feet in height. Between these falls is a series of 
rapids of the greatest beauty and interest. These falls are far more unifc)rm 
than those on the smaller creeks. As the river is fed by the melting snow 
on the mountains the flow of water is but slightly diminished during the 
summer when some of the other streams are entirely dry. Along the gorge 
called Tenaya Caflon are a number of imposing cliffs which rise to a great 
height. The Washington Column and the Royal Arches are on the northern 
side, while above them towers the North Dome. The latter reaches an alti- 
tude of 3,568 feet. Opposite this, on the southern side of the gorge, the 
wonderful granite peak known as the Half Dome appears. This vast cliff 
rises 4,737 feet, and is the highest point in the vicinity. A path has been 
made by which tourists can reach the summit. From this lofty elevation, 
almost a mile above the surface of the valley, the view is indescribably 
beautiful. 

There are various points from which excellent views of the valley may 
be obtained without the long and toilsome ascent of the highest cliffs. In- 
spiration Point is at the very entrance of the valley, where the Merced River 
leaves its caiion, and offers a splendid view of the enchanting region. 
Moran's Point, nearly across from the mouth of Tenaya Canon, lies at an 
elevation of about 2,000 feet, and is an excellent place of observation. A 
little farther east is Glacier Point, about 3,000 feet above the valley, which 
affords an almost unobstructed view of all its prominent features. 

The beauty of the valley is greatly enhanced by the numerous trees which 
have flourished here for centuries and which still maintain all the vigor of 
youth. The Merced River, with its clear and cold stream, flowing through 
the centre of the valley also adds a picturesque feature to the scene, while 
the flowers of many varieties and numberless shades and colors which in 
their season cover the ground, add an indescribable charm to a magnificent 
scene. 

Only about sixteen miles from the Yosemite Valley, and in the same 
county, is the famous Mariposa grove of trees of enormous size. This 
should, by all means, be visited by the tourist who has reached the Yosemite 
region. Like the Yosemite Valley, this grove is a government reservation 
and is under official supervision. The trees are in two groups. In the upper 
group there are 365 trees which are thirty-three feet in circumference and a 
large number of smaller ones which if standing outside of this marvellous 
region would be considered of enormous size. The lower group, which is 



322 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

5,500 feet above the sea, has about 125 trees, each of which measures more 
than forty feet in circumference. The one named Grizzly Giant has a cir- 
cumference of more than ninety-three feet at the base and of more than 
sixty-four feet at a distance of eleven feet from the ground. The first branch 
is about six feet in diameter, and almost 200 feet from the ground. The 
tallest tree of this group, now standing, measures 272 feet. Some of these 
trees are believed by scientists to be 2,000 years old. In the Calaveras 
County groves, lying farther north, are several trees much taller than any in 
the Mariposa region. One, called the Key-Stone State, is 325 feet in height, 
while there are three others which exceed 300 feet. But the Mariposa grove, 
lying near the Yosemite Valley, is more easily reached by tourists to that 
region. 

So far as is known the first tree of this species ever seen by a white man 
was discovered in the Calaveras grove by a hunter named Dowd, in 1852. 
After considerable difificulty Sequoia gigantca was fixed upon as the scientific 
name of this " unquestioned giant of the vegetable world." It is confined to 
a very limited area, being found only on the western side of the Sierra 
Nevada Mountains, while its range of latitude is less than three degrees. It 
does not appear at a lower elevation than 4,760 feet, nor at a greater height 
than about 7,000 feet. But it is the king of trees for the whole world, far 
surpassing in bulk the taller Eucalyptus of which Australia boasts. No visit 
to the Yosemite region can be considered complete which does not include 
-a trip to at least one of the districts in which these gigantic trees are found. 



THE COLUMBIA RIVER REGION 



ASSING toward that portion of our territory which, with the excep- 
tion of Alaska, a land widely separated from the main part of 
the United States, forms the northwestern section of the Union, 
we enter the region of the Columbia River. This river is the largest which 
enters the Pacific Ocean from the American side and was long known as the 
'Oregon River. It follows an extremely tortuous course and varies greatly 
in all its essential features in different portions of the territory which it 
traverses. Rising in British Columbia, away up on the western side of the 
Rocky Mountains, it flows toward the northwest for about 150 miles. It then 
turns southward and enters Washington. Here Clark's River unites with it 



I 




HALLET S HADES, COLUMBIA KIVER. 



324 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

and its southern direction is kept until it reaches Oregon. From this pointy 
a distance of about 300 miles, it forms the boundary between the two States 
of Washington and Oregon. Its course is toward the west, but dex'iates 
greatl)' from a straight line,_deflecting toward the south in the central portion 
of the State and making a sharp turn toward the north when near the 
western side. After another curve toward the west it soon enters the 
Pacific Ocean. 

During its course the Columbia receives several rivers of considerable size. 
Among them is the Willamette, which enters the Columbia more than 100 
miles from the ocean. The total length of the Columbia is about 1,400 
miles, its flow is rapid, and its volume of water is immense. With the ex- 
ception of two points it is navigable for about 400 miles, and by impro\e- 
ments of the channel it is expected that the principal obstacles to continu- 
ous navigation which now exist, will eventually be removed. 

But the fame of the Columbia River is principally due to the magnificent 
scenery which it presents throughout a large part of its course. It is not 
merely an enormous stream flowing majestically through a devious way, but 
it is a great river set iii a framework of glorious surroundings. In point of 
grand environment it has no successful rival on the American continent. 
Along its shores Nature appears in many and varied forms of grandeur. At 
various places its walls are literally " mountain high " and in many portions 
of its course its current has an impetuous flow. Cataracts abound. At some 
points its shores are near, at others they lie far apart. W^iere the Willamette 
is received it spreads to such a width as to appear like a lake ratlier than 
ri\'er, and man}' beautiful little islands dot its surface. New beauties are 
almost constantly appearing to the traveller along its course, and some of the 
changes of scene are as sudden and unexpected as they are enchanting. 

The traveller by the Northern Pacific Railroad will pass through the Walla 
\\'alla Country, in Washington, celebrated for its excellent farming land, its 
heavy yield of grain, and extensive production of fruit, and in which many 
pleasant views are to be obtained. Soon afterward he will enter Oregon and 
ere long reach the shore of the great Columbia. For a while there will be 
nothing startling, or even particularly interesting, in the scenerx'. The river 
flows quietly through a nearly level country. But this condition lasts only a ■ 
short time. The shores become higher, there is something bold and even rug- 
ged in their appearance, and the flow of the water becomes much more rapid 
and impetuous. A great lava bed is reached and the railroad passes over a 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 325 

surface formed from matter thrown, perhaps countless ages ago, from some 
volcano which, happily for the tourist, is now extinct. The bluffs here rise 
sharply, at only a little distance from the river, and their discolored sides pre 
sent anything but an inviting appearance. It is said, however, that on the 
heights the land is fertile and is under cultivation. 

At Celilo, nearly 130 miles from the confluence of the Snake River with 
the Columbia, the shore is sandy on the Oregon side while on the opposite 
shore of the river frowning blufTs arise. Here too is a strongly marked change 




MolNl' Ih 



1 Ki)M THv HKAKr OF THE DAI.IKS, roirMHIA RIVKR, 



in the current and in the character of the bed of the river. The water flows 
more swiftly and the channel is rocky. Except in time of high water, when 
the snow on the mountains melts under the summer heat, steamers do not pass 
this point. Even at the most favorable time the trip is not entirely safe. 
From a station above this spot steamers go without dif^culty for a long 
distance. After a turbulent course of thirteen miles the river again becomes 
calm and is easily navigable. Various objects of interest come into view in 
this vicinity. A huge cliff around which the track is laid, and the Little 
Dalles, will attract attention. But grander scenes are near at hand and 



'V 










6 



a 

■ o 









328 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

these, though beautiful and impressive in themselves, will sink into insignifi- 
cance when compared with the falls and clifTs a little farther down the river. 

The Great Dalles will fill the beholder with wonder and admiration. 
Here the river passes through a channel only about sixty yards wide. Basal- 
tic rocks rising sharply from its bed wall it in. The water rushes madly on 
through this narrow course. Its depth is unknown. It boils and foams in 
fury, but cannot burst its bounds. The rapids continue for more than two 
miles. Then the river assumes a more peaceful character, but occasional 
waterfalls occur, and the shores are broken and rugged. From the head of 
the Dalles and looking away from the immediate vicinity many beautiful 
mountain peaks may be seen, with Dalles City lying in the foreground. 

One of the most imposing views from this vicinity is that of Mount Hood, 
a majestic peak which is beautiful in outline as ^\•ell as massive in form. 
Many travellers by the Union Pacific Railroad make a trip to this mountain, 
which lies some twenty-five miles from the nearest station. Stages run to 
the foot of the mountain. The scenery along the route is magnificent, and 
from the summit the view is indescribably grand and inspiring. Mountain 
peaks covered with snow rise from near and from distant points. Forests 
and rivers, beautiful valleys, the great Puget Sound, together with towns and 
villages in the open land, make a picture of wonderful beauty and sublimity. 
For mountain scenery, it is claimed, there is no other point of view in the 
country equal to the summit of Mount Hood. 

The Cascades, at which point the river cuts through the Cascade Range, 
both the Upper and the Lower, are wonderfully beautiful in themselves and 
in the majestic walls and massive pillars which stand like eternal sentinels to 
watch the tumultuous flow of the great river which they inclose. On the 
westward way the scenery becomes still wilder and more majestic. Mountains 
are grouped in curious forms. Rocky terraces rising to sublime heights 
appear. Cliff rises above qliff, crag is piled on crag. In ever-varying forms 
and differing arrangements these great features constantly appear. Falling 
over these cliffs innumerable cascades are seen, and at various points we 
have falls which cannot be adequately described. Of these perhaps the most 
beautiful is the Multnomah Falls. Here the water has an unbroken fall of 
several hundred feet and almost immediately makes another plunge to the 
depths below. The total fall is 800 feet. Oneonta Falls closely rival the 
Multnomah and have about the same height. 

The Pillars of Hercules, between which the Northern Pacific Railroad 



4 




CAPE HuKN, COLUMBIA KIYER. 



330 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

passes, fill the mind with wonder and awe. Raising their massive forms 
toward the sky they seem like miracles of nature in a land of wonders. 
Passing these colossal towers we come to a somewhat more open country 
from which wider views are obtained. Soon after leaving this point the rail- 
road continues west to Portland, while the river pursues its winding course 
toward the northvvest. 

Of the magnificent views, the grand and peculiar features of the natural 
scenery of the Columbia River, only a few have been noted. To describe 
them all would require a volume, even to name them would require more 
space than we have at command. But among the towering and frowning 
cliffs which rise almost perpendicularly from the river bank and close to which 
the railroad track is laid, Gibraltar and Hallets Hades, deserve to be specially 
mentioned. Cape Horn, too, rising to a height of 700 feet and standing like 
an outpost at a bend of the river, presents a magnificent view either from 
the cars or from the steamers which run close to its base. 

Neither is all the splendid scenery of this wonderful region to be found 
in the narrow belt of country to a view of which the traveller who makes a 
continuous journey by rail is necessarily confined. There are magnificent 
mountains and beautiful lakes in other regions of Washington and Oregon. 
There are peaks covered with perpetual snow and streams winding through 
rocky glens and falling in beautiful cascades. Beautiful and fertile valleys 
in which are located thriving towns and, at but little distance therefrom, dense 
forests of large and valuable trees, may also be found. In the Grande Ronde 
Valley are fertile fields and plenty of fish and game. Its distinguishing 
feature, however, may be seen in the medicinal springs which here abound. 
Li one, which is known as " Hot Lake," the water is at a boiling temperature 
when it rises from the ground. It flows in quite a volume and spreads over 
an area of some three acres in extent. 

Oregon City, on the Willamette River and near rhe Willamette Falls, is 
the oldest city in the State of Oregon and was for a number of years the 
capital. It is about twelve miles from Portland, has a magnificent water 
power, several important industrial interests, and is destined to become a 
great manufacturing centre. The Falls are about forty feet in height and 
are remarkably beautiful. Up to this point the river is navigable for large 
boats, and during a large part of the year small steamers can pass 130 miles 
above the Falls, A canal has recently been completed by means of which 
boats can pass the P'alls. There are four lift locks, each of which changes the 




MULTNOMAH FALLS, COLUMBIA KIVER. 



332 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

level ten feet, and above these is a large guard lock. This great work was 
completed at a cost of more than half a million dollars, of which part was 
paid by the construction company, and the remainder contributed by the 
State. Throughout the Willamette Valley the scenery is fine, and the tourist 
will find it a delightful region in which to spend a portion of his leisure time. 
Portland, the western terminus of the line of the Oregon Railway and 
Navigation Co., is also a city in which the traveller in search of either pleasure 
or knowledge will find much to interest him. It is a city of wonderful growth 
and prosperity. Although nearly I20 miles from the ocean, it is practically 
a seaport to which ships come from all parts of the globe. It is located on 




FLOATING FISH WHEEL ON THE COLIIMBIA RIVE 
OREGON. 



the Willamette River, twelve miles from its union with the Columbia, and is 
destined to become one of the great cities of the West. Astoria, on the 
Columbia River and near its mouth, should also receive a visit. In point of 
population it is second in the State and is rapidly growing. Its manufactur- 
ing interests are important, but the great commercial interest centres in the 
fisheries. Nearly two-thirds of the canneries of the Columbia River are 
located at this point, and about $3,000,000 worth of salmon are canned here 
every year. The fish are not only caught in nets and seines, but also in 
various forms of traps and by means of floating wheels which take the fish in 
shoals and land them in the boats upon which the wheels are placed. In this 
region tlic salmon fisher\- attains its greatest development. With the excep- 




PILLARS OF HERCELES, COLUMBIA RIVER. 



334 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

tion ot Alaska no portion of the world can be compared \\ith it for the 
abundance and value of this important variety of fish. The view of the bay 
is very fine, and there are many very pretty places within easy reach. A 
large and excellent hotel faces the ocean and there are various other houses 
at which \isitors are well entertained. 

The tourist who desires to go still farther can make a pleasant trip of 
nearly 150 miles from Astoria to Tacoma, located on the famous Puget Sound. 
Thirty-eight miles from Portland, by the Northern Pacific Railroad, at 
Hunter's Point, the train is ferried across the Columbia River by a boat built 
for this road, capable of taking thirty cars at a trip, and said to be the finest 
boat of the kind ever built. The adjacent country is pleasant and the 
mountain scenery is magnificent. The Cascade Range rises in blue and white 
tints and in beautiful form, and for a long distance Mount Hood, with its snowy 
crown, though now far away, is in full view. This usual)}- attracts a large 
share of the tourists' attention. The beauty of the mountain itself, though 
an excellent one, is not the only reason for this close observation. Another 
cause is found in the fact that when viewed from a distant point, under \-ary- 
ing atmospheric conditions, the appearance is widely different from that 
presented when the observer is in its immediate vicinity. The traveller who 
has an eye to natural beauty is fairl}- entranced b}- the " changing splendors" 
which this glorious peak presents. Other great mountains also come in \-ievv 
as the journey is continu-ed. 

When the traveller reaches a point within about forty miles of its base the 
loft\- snow-crowned Tacoma comes into view for a brief period through an 
opening in the dense forest which during quite a portion of the way inter 
vcnes. A little farther on the traveller beholds the great inland sea kno\\n 
as Puget Sound, and at Tacoma, located at the head of Commencement Bay, 
he will find sailing craft of various descriptions, including large ocean vessels. 
This is the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Here are 
manufactories and fisheries, and evidences of commercial activity and pros- 
perity appear on c\-er}' hand. The tourist will find much to interest him, 
good accommodations, bracing air and, except in winter, when it is very moist 
as well as mild, a fine climate. 

P"rom this point the tourist should make a visit to Mount Tacoma, which 
is the loftiest and the most beautiful peak in the vicinity. Recent measure- 
ments have shown its summit to be 14,444 ^^^^ above the sea. This is more 
than 650 feet higher than Mount Adams, and is the same height as Mount 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 335 

Shasta in California. Its base is said to be forty miles in circumference. An 
elevation of about 11,000 feet may be reached on the northern side with com- 
parative ease, but climbing to the summit is an almost impossible feat which 
up to 1885 only two men were known to have accomplished. Of the fifteen 
glaciers which flow from this mountain three are within easy reach and are 
said to be more magnificent than the famous glaciers of Switzerland. If the 
tourist w^ishes to loiter on the way he will find during the last half of the 
route, which is traversed on horseback, frequent camps in which he will be 
well entertained, and in the vicinity of which he will find excellent fishing and 
hunting. 

Returning to Tacoma the tourist will probably feel the need of rest for a 
day or two from his mountain trip. He will then determine whether to take 
a homeward course or push on to our great Territory of Alaska at the 
extreme northwestern portion of the continent. If the former course is 
chosen he will carry with him the memory of numberless magnificent scenes. 
If the latter is followed, he can be sure that new 'beauties and glories await 
him in the distant land toward which he sails. 



ALASKA. 




O a great extent Alaska is an unknown land. Only a small portion 
of its vast territory has been carefully explored, and with the ex- 
ception of some circumscribed regions we have but meagre 
accounts of its character and resources. But enough has been done in the 
way of travel and description to assure us that it is a land of wonders, and 
that it presents to the visitor unnumbered scenes of picturesque beauty and 
grandeur. 

Lying away in the north-western portion of the continent and covering 
an area of 577,390 square miles, an area more than ten times as large as that 
of the great State of Illinois and larger than the combined area of Great 
Britain, France, and Germany, it is, indeed, as its name signifies, " a large 
country." Its length, from extreme points of east to west, is 2,200 miles; 
from north to south it measures 1,400 miles; and, owing to its extremely ir- 
regular form, its shore line exceeds 8,000 miles. If the adjacent islands are 
included in the measurement we find a coast line of more than 25,000 miles. 
Though far away from our great centres of civilization, the countr}- is easily 



■1— WU WMfflKB B 





338 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

reached by either of the Pacific Railroads to the Pacific coast and thence by- 
large and elegant steamers. All along the western portion of the continent 
the traveller is surrounded by natural wonders. The trip by steamer, cover- 
ing a distance of some 2,000 miles, is hardly less astonishing and delightful. 
Keeping near the shore the wave-motion of the open sea is entirely avoided, 
the climate is mild, and the magnificent scenery of the coast is in full and 
constant view. 

Arriving at Alaska we find the highest mountains in North America, one 
of them. Mount Saint Elias, of the Coast Range, reaching a height of about 
19,500 feet. Besides this great range there are the Rocky Mountains, and 
the Alaskan Range, each of which has many towering peaks. The country 
also contains sixty-one volcanoes, ten of which are active. Mount Edge- 
cumbe, an extinct volcano, has a crater nearly 400 feet deep and 2,000 feet 
across the top. Among these mountain ranges we also find some of the 
greatest glaciers in the world. One of these, extending from Mount Fair- 
weather to the sea, a distance of fifty miles, is eight miles wide and breaks 
in a massive wall of ice 300 feet high. Another, above Fort Wrangel, is 
forty miles long, four or five miles wide, and about 1,000 feet deep, while 
■only a little distance from this v^ast mass of moving ice, boiling springs are 
■constantly active. In quite a large section of the country hot mineral springs 
are numerous, and it is neither impossible nor improbable that at no very 
remote period this distant region will become a noted resort for invalids. 
Some of these springs are of immense size and strongly impregnated with 
mineral substances. 

The rivers of Alaska are as wonderful in their way as the mountains or 
any other of the natural phenomena. The largest is the Yukon, w^hich in 
point of size is the fifth river of North America and the fourth of the United 
States, draining an extensive area and from its various outlets discharging 
an immense quantity of water. It has its source in a very small lake, flows 
through five other lakes, and by a remarkably circuitous course reaches the 
Behring Sea. The whole course of the river is about 2,044 miles, about jS^ 
of which are in British America. Its waters are discharged from five or more 
mouths, the two outer ones being not less than sixty miles apart. So great 
is the volume of water from one of these mouths that for a distance of ten 
miles after it reaches the sea, the water is still fresh. A vast quantity of sedi 
ment is carried down the river by its strong and rapid flow and deposited far 
out in the sea. Some of the shoals thus formed are more than sixty miles 



340 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC. 

from the shore. At a point i,ooo miles from the sea the river, with the 
numerous islands in its channel, is seven miles wide and it is supposed to 
reach twice that width at other places. It maintains an immense width for 
a distance of about 300 miles. In the course of the river, more than 1,800 
miles from the northern mouth, there is a magnificent canon a mile in length. 
The rapid flow of the water continues four miles farther and ends in a beauti- 
ful cascade, the even course of the water being then resumed. To this point 
the river is navigable for light-draught steamers, and for 1,000 or 1,200 miles 
it can be traversed by much larger vessels. There are several other rivers of 
large size, some of which have not been fully explored. 

The forests of the country are on the same scale of magnificence as its 
other features and add greatly to the beauty and impressiveness of the 
scenery. Not only the mainland along the coast, but the multitude of islands, 
in the vicinity, are heavily covered with pine, spruce, hemlock, and a variety 
of cedar trees, which are valuable as well as ornamental. 

As would be expected from their high latitude, the central and northern 
portions of Alaska are inhospitable, but in the south-western section the 
climate is comparatively mild, being tempered by the warm current of the 
Pacific Ocean in its course from the East Indies. This current, which closely 
resembles the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic, causes the excessive rainfall for 
which some portions of the country are noted. In Sitka the mean tempera- 
ture is very nearly forty-three degrees, and the annual rainfall is about eighty 
inches. In the valley of the Yukon, in some other districts, and upon some 
of the islands, several of the vegetables of the temperate regions are grown. 

In the northern portion of the country, where the sinking of a shaft has 
proved that the ground is frozen to a depth of seventy-five feet, considerable 
vegetation grows in the summer, when the days are almost twenty-four hours 
in length, and the sun shining almost constantly thaws the surface soil. The 
ground being wet, the grasses and plants produced are large and coarse, but 
they furnish an excellent cover for migratory birds, which flock to the region 
in vast numbers, making it one of the best of fields for the sportsman. Then, 
too, there are immense hunting-grounds in which elk, deer, and fur-bearing 
animals abound. The fishing in several sections is also very fine, whether 
viewed from a commercial standpoint or from that of the pleasure-seeker. 
The number of salmon is immense and they grow to a large size. The whale 
fisheries and the seal hunting are also objects of interest to the tourist as well 
as important industrial pursuits. A view of the mines cannot fail to please 



342 THE GREAT WONDERLANDS OF OUR REPUBLIC: 

ev^en the experienced sight-seer. A visit to the one about ten miles from 
Sitka, will also furnish a pleasant trip across Silver Bay, and bring the tourist 
to what is said to be the largest quartz mill in the world. 

The largest settlement of Alaska, and the only one in which the traveller 
for pleasure will care to spend much time, is Sitka, the capital of the Territory 
and place of residence of the United States collector of customs. It is 
located on Baranov Island, near the Pacific coast, and commands a magnifi- 
cent view of both sea and shore. The " Thousand Islands '* here present a 
scene of picturesque beauty hardly excelled by that of the world-famed Bay 
of Naples in the sunny clime of Italy. 

The population numbers from i,ooo to 1,500. The Indian residents have 
to a great extent adopted the dress and manners of civilized nations, and 
their children attend schools which are maintained by various religious de- 
nominations in the United States. In common with the Indians of other 
portions of North America, Northern Asia, and other countries, each import- 
ant family, or band, has its distinguishing totcDi, or badge, which consists of 
a figure carved or marked on its houses, clothing, and other property. At 
their burial places, and in front of some of their best houses, these Indians 
erect large totem poles on which the figure adopted as the family or tribal 
symbol is rudely carved. Many of these poles are of great size and quite ex- 
pensive. They range from two to five feet in diameter and some are not less 
than sixty feet high. 

To the tourist, one of the chief objects of interest in Sitka is the cathedral 
of the Greek Church, which was built when the country was one of the 
Russian possessions. It is constructed in the fcjrm of a Greek cross. A 
cupola caps the tower in whicli tlie bell is hung, and above the centre of the 
building is a dome of emerald-green. The chapel, located in one of the 
\vings, has a magnificent painting of the Virgin an.d Child, copied from the 
original at Moscow, and heavily draped in silver with a beautiful halo of 
gold. The doors to the chancel are beautifully carved and heavily gilded. 
Here, also, are exquisite paintings of the Last Supper, the Madonna, and of 
other subjects, all heavily adorned with silver. This room women are never 
allowed to enter. The general ornamentation of the building is rich and 
elegant, while the crown and vestments of the Bishop, which are freely 
shown to visitors, are of costly material and magnificent appearance. 

The fortifications antl the United States signal service office are also 
places of int<;Test — the latter largely on account of its historical associations. 



NATURAL SCENERY AND CELEBRATED RESORTS. 345 

It is located in a buildini;- which was erected by the Russians, destroyed by 
fire, afterward rebuilt, and then demolished by an earthquake. Once more 
it was erected, in massive proportions, and it now seems likely to successfully 
defy for ages the power of the elements and the destructive agencies of 
time. There is also a sad story of a beautiful orphan girl whose tragic death 
occurred within these walls. She had promised herself to a young lieutenant 
connected with the household, but her uncle and guardian, the Russian gover- 
nor, desired her to marry a prince who was at that time his honored guest. 
In order to accomplish his purpose the Governor professetl a deep interest 
in the lieutenant and sent him away for a few days. Then, against her will 
and in spite oi her tearful protests, the young lady was compelled to marry 
the prince. Soon after the ceremony was performed, and while the festivi- 
ties were at their height, the first lover returned, h^ntering the hall he took 
the unfortunate girl by the hand and without speaking thrust a dagger 
through her heart. Then, in wild tlespair, he rushed from the castle and 
drowned himself in the sea. Accortiing to a widely accepted legend the spirit 
of the murdered girl always appears on the anniversary of that fearful night, 
and sometimes when a storm, is raging she keeps a light in a deserted tower 
in order to guide the course of her lover, whom she believes is still at sea. 

The return trip by steamer will be ecpially interesting with the one which 
brought the tourist to this wonderful land. The scenes then beheld will 
re-appear, but, being viewed from a different direction, will present new 
beauties and varying attractions. And while he may rejoice to be " home- 
ward bound," the happiness will be tinged with regret at leaving the marvel- 
lous region with which he has just become acquainted. As Alaska is now 
United States territory, our people should take a patriotic interest in its 
magnificent scenic attractions as well as rejoice in its growing commercial 
importance. This vast and distant portion of our country should no longer 
be allowed to remain as it has been in the past, an almost unnoticed and 
unknown land.' 



OUR NATION: 



THE STORY OF ITS 



PROGRESS AND GRO\^^TH 



^4lri*^,eh^ 



• c/jr^^^ 



PRELIMINARY NOTE. 



F'ollowing is a rapid general view of the structure of Our Great 
Republic as a whole, under the title of " Our N^ation : The Story of 
its Progress and Growth^ Prepared by another hand for this work, 
it has been carefully examined by the present writer, and its historical 
statements verified by him. This brief general view embraces the 
period of the marvellous career of our Nation until the present time. 

Benson J. Lossing. 

" The Ridge," 
Dover Plains, N. Y., Oct. ist, iSgo 



INTRODUCTION 



OUR POSITION AMONG THE NATIONS— LESSONS TAUGHT 

IN OUR HISTORY. 

We are standing to-day like the Roman god of the gates with our faces 
turned both ways. With one we are gazing in subdued tenderness upon the 
sacred memories of the past, and stretching our hands with their wealth of 
flowers to do honor to our hero dead: with the other we turn to the hopeful 
future, and offer our arms still strong to bear its burden and brave to share 
its battles. For those who have nobly fallen in the line of duty the end has 
come, and to them the fullest praise should be given ; but for us who remain, 
the bugle only sounds the needful truce, while with reverent tread we bear our 
comrades to their resting place and strew their graves with the richest flowers 
of each returning spring. For us the respite from the conflict is but a brief 
one. The present makes its ever-increasing demands upon us, and calls for 
brave hearts with noble purpose true. 

Scarcely do the echoes of the burial note and the " volley of honor" 
die upon the air when the thrilling tones of the bugle sound " On to the 
battle/'' If we thought the truce meant a peace we were most sadly mis- 
taken, for we shall find that the contest wages still. The battle-field only has 
changed, and with it has changed the relation of the contending forces. The 
armies late arrayed against each other are divided on a different line now. 
Happily the issues of that contest are settled, but the conflict of the people 
against the enemies of popular government wages still. The recent civil war 
was but one phase of the gigantic struggle which began with our existence as 
a people, a single scene of the national drama which opened when the genius 
of liberty " rang up the curtain," and our fathers pronounced the grand old 
prelude in their immortal bill of rights, " The DECLARATION OF INDEPEND- 
ENCE." 

The first battalions of the army have engaged in conflicts fierce and long 



348 OUR NATION: 

and they won the victory; but their triumph was not destined to give com- 
plete security to them who came after them. The enemies of popular liberty 
have been encountered and overcome on many a hotly contested battle-field, 
but after each successive victory new allies of tyranny have as suddenly 
arisen ; new assaults have been prepared ; new tactics have been employed, and 
still new enemies pour down upon the army of freedom. Conquering field 
after field from their foes the patriot soldiers see the frowning hill-tops 
beyond, still black with threatening warriors pressing forward to meet them 
on other fields — and " tJic end is not yet T 

The march of freedom's host is like that of a conquering army into a for- 
tress that has been breached. The men in the vanguard may fall by thou- 
sands. Was their fall a failure? Nay, nay; for their bodies but helped to 
bridge the trench over which their comrades have marched to a complete 
victory. The dying exhortation of the falling heroes to those who came after 
them has been like that of noble Lmvrence, carried wounded unto death from 
the deck of his vessel, "Don't give up the ship!" Each succeeding genera- 
tion will find that " Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," and 
this price must ever be paid by those who would retain it ! 

" This last successful experiment of self-government by the people " is 
still on trial before the ages, and the severest tests are now being applied, 
the strength of our institutions is put to its utmost tension. The cable of 
law that holds our ship of State is being stretched by two opposite forces: 
already do the strands smoke in their intense friction around the pierhead of 
the constitution. On the one side unbridled license exerts the full force of 
its diabolic strength ; the love of money and of power, on the other, puts 
forth all its energy to break the bonds of lawful restraint. Human greed and 
human lust have united to bid defiance to the right, — twin monsters more 
hideous than mythology ever painted or poet ever dreamed. They have 
given birth to a whole brood of bantlings as repulsive as themselves — the 
demagogues in Society and Church and State; Communism, with its red 
hand, Ishmael-like arrayed against every man, and every man's hand arrayed 
against it; the Moloch of wealth seizing in its fiery arms the noblest children 
of our race; the Goliath of intemperance bidding defiance to the Church of 
God and the cries of Humanity; the shameless goddess. Free Love, and her 
wanton sister, Easy Divorce, who have polluted with their fetid breath the 
purest sanctuary of home; dark-robed Skepticism assuming the name of 
Human Reason, would pluck with skeleton hand the brightest star from 



INTRODUCTION. 349 

our sky and throw her own black mantle of night over the horizon that hides 
our hopes of immortality; License which would bring to our land the Sunday 
of Europe and rob us of all the sacred memories which hallow "the day of 
rest ; " the corrupting and festering influences that are sapping the manhood 
of the nation ; the shameless immoralities and ill-concealed dishonesties which 
so frequently startle us with their public outcroppings, are enough to sicken 
the heart and unnerve the arm of the patriot if he has not the same confi- 
dence in the God of battles that our fathers had. These are the foes with 
which we still have to contend, in their new disguises and upon their own 
well-chosen and well-fortified battle ground. 

Shall we overcome them ? In the words of the flaming orator of our 
early struggle, " I have no way of judging of the future, but by the past." 

Look back on the line of history along which this " Young Republic of 
the West " has come, and with the broad chart of ancient and modern times 
before you find a parallel to it all if you can! But little more than a century 
has passed since thirteen isolated and dependent colonies, with no commu- 
nity of aims and no mutual bond save a common grievance in the oppression 
of the Home Government, came to agitate the question of an appeal to arms; 
and to-day, as regards moral force and material strength, they stand united 
as the first power in Christendom. Thirteen States have increased to (will 
some little boy or girl who has the latest edition of geography please to tell 
me ?) — I am unable to keep up the count, they come in so fast. We have a 
new star in our flag to-day, I believe, and the number is thirty-eight. 

In view of the facts in our remarkable history we may well say with the 
inspired Hebrew bard, " He hath not dealt so with any nation." 

Can we fathom the problems of Providence in reference to this Ameri- 
can people ? Has not Jehovah some mighty design in all this wonderful 
development ? Can we not see the plainest indications all along the highway 
of the past of the great fact which the crazy old king of Babylon acknowl- 
edged, " God doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among 
the inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay his hand ? " Let us look 
back upon our history and trace, if we can, these developments of Provi- 
dence. If we can do this we will not have misspent the few moments devoted 
to-day to this exercise. 

Here was a continent lying in a wilderness state, the only inhabitants 
were the wild beasts and scarcely less wild aborigines who roamed, unre- 
-Strained, over its extensive plains and through its grand old forests. Here were 



350 OUR NATION: 

the same noble rivers; the same broad inland seas; the wide extended prairie 
with its rich deposit of soil; the hidden wealth of minerals in the bowels of 
the earth ; water-power capable of carrying all the machinery of the world 
to-day; the same lofty mountains with their magnificent scenery, the grand- 
est upon which the sun ever shines, all as we behold them now, and yet for 
fifteen hundred years after the birth of Christ it is an unknown world. And 
why was this ? Look at the condition of the more civilized parts of the world 
for these long centuries and you will find the answer, — the dark black night 
of a thousand years which had come over Europe, when moral, religious 
and social darkness rested on all the people so dense that scarcely a ray 
of light ever penetrated it. Man was working out the bitter problem of 
the relation of the Church to the State, in the union of temporal and spiritual 
power: and the fearful solution was well-nigh given in the loss of civil and 
religious liberty. 

Many abortive attempts were made to regain that which had been lost^ 
and the flickering fires, uncertain and disconcerted, which arose ever and 
anon amid the surrounding gloom went quickly out and made the darkness 
all the more intense for their short-lived burning. These questions had an 
ample theatre in the old world ; the new was held in reserve for grander trials 
of those questions which are closely interwoven with our world-wide human- 
ity. At length the echoes of the hammer of Luther as he nailed his bold 
Theses to the church door at Wittenberg awoke the people from their sleep 
of centuries, a sleep which had cost them so much, in which the chains of an 
irksome bondage were being riven harder and harder still about them. But 
the strength of the sleeping giant was aroused and the bands were rent 
asunder. And now, when this spirit of freedom from the chains which had 
bound body and mind and heart alike, had swept across the newly awakened 
nations, and men were seeking for some asylum from the bondage, God him- 
self sent the hardy Genoan navigator in his Spanish ships to open the way 
to such a land as this. And he did it. 

When " the fullness of times " had come He sent the right people to colo- 
nize the land. The stern unyielding Puritan with hardy hand and living faith 
He sent to Plymouth; the Dutchman with his love for " Faderland " to Man- 
hattan ; the Quaker with charitable heart and uncompromising integrity to 
build up the City of Brotherly Love; the fervent, zealous Catholic to the 
shores of the Chesapeake; the vanguard of all, led by the boldest of pioneers, 
to Jamestown; the Huguenots of sunny France to the no less sunny clime of 



INTRODUCTION. 35r 

Georgia and the Carolinas. And these were they who laid the foundation of 
the civil government we now enjoy. Do we not see the plainest indications 
that right here, in this new world upon whose eastern shores these feeble 
colonies were planted, there were questions to be solved which were to affect 
all the race ? The variety of creed and nationality which characterized the 
pioneers was an arrangement of Providence to hold each in check, and thus 
prepare for the coming struggle which so soon was to be theirs. The seeds 
were planted, but it would take years of storm and sunshine, of tempest and 
calm, of anxious watching and bitterest disappointment, before that seed 
would germinate and develop into a full-grown tree beneath whose shadow 
the nations of the earth might rest. This period which preceded the revolu- 
tion is rich in indications of manifest providences. All the wars with the 
Indians, with the French, and the wilderness, too, were but as a training- 
school for the contest which they were to have. All this was but the forma- 
tive, concentrative period which was to try their young strength and develop 
it to maturity. 

Like the infant Hercules crawling from his cradle to throttle the twin 
serpents one in either hand did these young colonies contend with difficulties 
which might well appal the stoutest heart, and they overcame them. The 
savage climate and the more savage aborigines had well-nigh annihilated the 
little band. But still they stood by the daring enterprise which seemed so 
perilous. A race of warriors was thus reared hardy of muscle and quick of 
sight, with indomitable courage and perseverance such as was soon to try 
the mettle of the well-trained soldiers of the Mother Country. The conflict 
came. Statesmen and generals and patriot soldiers were not wanting for the 
conflict. 

The night was long and dark and almost starless, but still they watched 
with unequaled patience for the coming morning. Seven weary years of war 
with all its sad experiences of want and misery, of sacrifice and blood, came 
upon them. Then it was that these noble men needed such trust in God as 
the Puritan had instilled into his faith; such indomitable perseverance as the 
Germanic element infused with the burning zeal of the Catholic, and the ini- 
mitable patience of the Huguenot under affliction. And that there was a 
wise design in this protracted war is seen in the fact that the colonies were 
thus knit together as never before by a community of sacrifice and suffering 
in the same cause, and so the bond which was to hold them in sympathy was 
more and more firmly cemented. At length the glorious dawn was ushered 



352 OUR NATION: 

in; faint and uncertain at first, like the earliest break of day, but surely com- 
ing, till soon the sun of liberty rises full and clear on this western land. 
Clouds, dark and portentous, may cross his track and hide him from our 
view, but never again will he set till all the world has felt the warmth which 
-comes from his beams. 

Now follows the formative period, when there needed men of wise heads 
'and honest hearts to lay the foundations of government upon an unyielding 
basis. That these men who gave us such a document as " The Constitution 
of the United States " were eminently fitted for such a task is amply proven 
by the experimental workings of this Magna Charta of human rights for more 
than a century. 

Wisdom and patriotism in a very marked degree were the character- 
istics of the National Congress in the early days of our history. It was 
most eminently fitting that George Washington, who had commanded the 
army during the war of the Revolution, should be the chosen one to inaugu- 
rate the new government. No other man in all history had so united in him- 
self every characteristic of nature's nobleman as he. Right worthy the trust 
confided to him by a grateful people, he displayed to the wondering govern- 
■ments of Europe an example unequaled by anything which had preceded it. 
They sneeringly had*asked the question: Can the American people establish 
a republic after a protracted war, arousing, as war was prone to do, an ambi- 
tion for power in the breast of the successful chieftain? The farewell address 
of George Washington to his countrymen, an immortal production, is the 
unhesitating answer to their questioning. 

Now succeeds another period of development unparalleled in all that the 
world had before seen. The government had demonstrated its adaptation 
to the wants of the masses; it had shown its power to suppress domestic tur- 
moil, and now the country is at peace. The pursuits of agriculture, of man- 
vifactures and of commerce receive the attention of the people. Wealth and 
commercial influence very rapidly increase, while throughout all the land 
there are being built up the monuments of intelligence and industry. The 
liberal arts and sciences, these problems which touch the vital interest of such 
a government as ours, receive ample attention. Our prosperity at [home is 
not equaled by our national standing abroad. 

Two of the chief powers of Europe were at war, and while we remain 
strictly neutral they each trample upon our rights as a nation. The one 
takes from our ships of war, by a pretend(xl right of search, men to fill her 



INTRODUCTION. 353 

own depleted navy, and they both in-turn, by their unrighteous embargoes, 
unite to cripple our young commerce. France recedes from her position and 
makes restitution; but the Mother Land, who has ever behaved in a very 
step-motherly way toward her vigorous child, is compelled to yield only by 
force of arms. In this war, disastrous to both countries, we were enabled to 
assert our national dignity, and to command the respect of other nationali- 
ties. That this war was needful is clearly seen by the marked increase of our 
commercial interests and the respect paid to our flag by all other powers; a 
result which immediately followed. And, again, through a period of years 
the development of our country keeps pace with the loftiest imagination. 
State after State takes its place beside its fellow in the Union. Territory is 
acquired by peaceful purchase from France (of Louisiana) and from Spain (of 
Florida). Texas gravitates to us by the fortunes of war, and the golden 
land, with Arizona and New Mexico, are wrested from a sister republic by 
the force of arms and by purchase. 

The strong arm of the nation has proved its power in subduing the 
Indians and bringing the insubordinate citizens to bow to rightful authority. 
The republic has, by the providence of God, taken a foremost place among 
the powers of the world, and with an enlightenment and liberalism unknown 
before has spread her broad arms to the nations and welcomed the oppressed 
of every clime and race to her " asylum of the free." 

Freedom, civil and religious, was proclaimed, in theory, at least, through 
all the land. And thus, as we have hastily sketched, a nation of patri^ots had 
conquered their independence and had laid the foundation of the best gov- 
ernment the world has ever seen. They had developed into a powerful 
people, prosperous at home and respected abroad. This prosperity they had 
earned by their industry; this respect they had won by their swords from 
unwilling lips. For, while the bitterest hatred of old dynasties in the Eastern 
World still lay smouldering, ill-concealed beneath their pretended friendliness, 
they only dared to flatter the rising power they so intensely hated. All the 
peoples of the Old World were looking on in amazement to see this experi- 
ment of popular government prove so successful as it did. Sister republics 
sprang up in the New World modeled upon our Constitution. The trembling" 
monarchies of Europe felt the moral force of such a fact in history as " the 
United States of America " came to be, and they all desired our destruction 
while they feared the power of our example, for the masses in every country 
where a general intelligence prevailed had caught the spirit of liberty borne 



354 OUR NATION: 

to them on every Western wind, and should the fact be established beyond 
question that the entire people were capable of self-government they would 
be most likely to follow the example thus set them. This caused the mon- 
archs of Europe to wear uneasy crowns as they sat upon their tottering 
thrones. And they said, "A violent internal commotion will rend this coun- 
try asunder, and its disrupted States will form rival independencies, and thus 
the power which we fear will ere long overshadow us will be destroyed." 
This they said and this they sincerely hoped. There seemed to be the pros- 
pect of a speedy realization of their fond anticipations, for there had been 
one dark spot upon our otherwise fair escutcheon. It stood out bold and 
black and repulsive, and made us a by-word to the nations. It was this: 
While we proclaimed universal liberty in our immortal Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, there was at the same time within our own borders a race of serfs 
cut off from all these inalienable rights which we had demanded for every 
man. 

How to deal with this forbidding question, which we had inherited from 
the mother country, was a perplexing one to our wisest and best statesmen. 
Good men of all shades of political opinion could not fail to see the fearful 
cloud, small and inauspicious at first, but spreading wider and wider still was 
threatening our destruction. The contest must come sooner or later. Polit- 
ical extremists in either section of the country hastened it to its final issue. 
An appeal to arms, rash as it was wicked, was made. The flag of our com- 
mon country was insulted and disgraced, the authority of the government 
despised and its rightful allegiance set aside. Nothing in all the world would 
give more satisfaction to the enemies of civil liberty in the Eastern continent 
than to see the rebellion prove a success. And so they threw the whole force 
of their sympathy and moral aid, under cover of a pretended neutrality, on 
the side of those who sought to overthrow the government. In this they 
were disappointed. The unrighteous appeal to arms was most disastrous to 
those who made it. The authority of the government was asserted by the 
overthrow of the armed rebellion. The strength of the citizen soldiery which 
the nation could call into the field was appalling to other nationalities. More 
than two millions of names were borne upon the muster rolls of the United 
States army, a greater force than Napoleon could command in the height of 
his power. The grand review of the army at the close of the war was a spec- 
tacle unequaled in history. One hundred and eighty thousand strong, they 
marched past tlie President and the generals of the army, and that, too, when 



INTRODUCTION. 355 

many thousands of soldiers equally brave, were scattered throughout the 
South. Never before had the world seen such a sight. But these men were 
ready to stack their arms, park their artillery, and return to the avocations 
of peace. In an incredibly short time they were disbanded ; and to-day you 
will find them in the workshops, the fields, the stores, and all the marts of 
trade throughout our land, from its one extreme to the other. 

Those questions which were left to be solved as the outgrowth of the 
war are too new and too recent for us to discuss them without bias by our 
former opinions. That ultimately they will be wrought out to a successful 
issue is the hope, yes, the settled belief of every man who recognizes the 
truth that " God ruleth among the nations of the earth," and " he maketh 
even the wrath of man to praise him." Is there no design of Providence in 
all this wonderful history of the past and aspect of the present ? This free 
land, extending from sea to sea, with no abutting nation upon either frontier, 
capable of sustaining hundreds of millions of inhabitants, offers now a home 
to the oppressed of the world ; and they are hastening to its shores, spreading 
over its wide extent, and peopling its towns and villages. The Celtic and 
Teutonic, the Anglo-Saxon and his Germanic cousin, the Scandinavian of 
Northern Europe and the child of sunny France and Italy. The Asiatic and 
the African are beneath a common flag to-day. The teeming population of 
Europe and Asia came of their own accord, the one part across the ocean 
which laves our Eastern shores, and the other wafted by the softer gales 
of the Pacific to the golden shores of the west. And now they find an equal 
home as they strike glad hands across our free America. 

The dusky sons of Africa are here as well. They came, it is true, as 
Joseph came to the land of Egypt, "whose feet they hurt with fetters." But, 
thank God, those fetters are stricken off to-day. Here there is ample protec- 
tion for all religions alike, the true and the false. The Protestant and the 
Catholic, the Mohammedan and Pagan, the Jew and the Christian of every 
name are on an equal footing before the law. The only conflict there is 
between them is the conflict of argument and ideas, and with a general diffu- 
sion of intelligence among the people the true religion has nothing to fear in 
the unequal contest with the false. If America in the future will keep her 
ballot-box pure and her people rightly educated she need fear nothing that 
that future has in store for her. 

The great duty of America to-day is to civilize, to educate and to chris- 
tianize her people. The first of these results will follow from the other two 



356 OUR NATION: 

united. God has sent the world to our feet for us to enlighten, to instruct, 
and to convert to him. When the great question came to the church of 
CKrist, " How shall we bring all men to a knowledge of the truth ? How 
shall we send the light of a pure religion to all the world ? " God himself 
answered it by sending the nations to us. Here they are to-day, and we 
must christianize them or they will paganize us. The Church can do her 
great part in this work so long as the strong arm of the Government protects 
the freedom of speech and disseminates the light of intelligence to the masses. 
These, then, are the bold questions which affect this common humanity of 
ours, and which America is working out for the world to-day: freedom of 
person and conscience; universal equality and the brotherhood of the race; 
the civilization and redemption of all men. If she be true to her trust the 
grandest place in history awaits her, but if she prove false, she will find 
written on the walls of her proudest palaces by the finger of Deity, " Thou 
art weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is given to 
another," which, may heaven forbid! 

Let us prize, as we should, the blessed inheritance which has come down 
to us from the past. Let us remember that the blood of three generations 
cements the bond which binds this union with its indissoluble chain. The 
altar of our liberty has been baptized with the richest and the noblest blood 
which ever flowed in human veins. 

The patriots of 1776, of 181 2, and of 1861 have vied with each other in 
sacrifices for a common country, and poured out their blood like water to 
enrich the soil from which has sprung this tree of liberty. Long may it 
flourish, striking its roots deeper and deeper still into the earth ; higher yet 
may it lift its towering top into the heavens as its branches, outstretching far 
and wide, throw their protection over all the land alike. Nor storms, nor 
tempests' fiercest power can now tear up the giant oak. If e'er it shall decay, 
the worm which feeds upon its life will be the cause. But may God forbid. 

Let us, then, swear renewed fidelity to our institutions, to the Constitu- 
tion and the laws of our united land. And with that stern old patriot, 
Andrew Jackson, answer back to the world, " The Union must and shall be 
preserved." 



Qiir Sation: 

THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 



The earliest settlement that remained permanent in the United States 
was at Jamestown, Virginia. Sir Walter Raleigh, who was at one time a 
great favorite of Elizabeth, the Queen of England, was very much interested 
in making a settlement in America, and expended a vast amount of money to 
forward his plans. But his colonies always failed for some cause or another. 
Sometimes the colonists would return in disgust at the hardships which they 
had to endure. A part of one colony was murdered by the Indians, and 
when help came nothing but ruins could be found ; and one colony was lost, 
and its fate is unknown to this day. At last, in 1606, a grant was given by 
the king to a company who would colonize any part of America claimed by 
the English and trade with the natives. Under this grant, a company of one 
hundred and five men set out for Virginia in three vessels. One-half of this 
number were " gentlemen " of broken fortunes; some were trades-people, and 
some were servants. There was not a farmer and only a .few mechanics 
among them. There was one man in this band who was a born hero and 
leader, — John Smith. They came to the James River and laid the foundation 
of a settlement, which they named Jamestown, in honor of the king. Here 
were planted the seeds of the first settlement that took root and flourished. 
The colonists, unaccustomed to toil, erected rude homes in the wilderness 
and planted a little. When the summer came they were attacked by sickness, 
and about one-half of them died from disease and starvation; but winter 
brought them better climate and abundant supplies of game and fish. Smith 
set out to explore the country, and was captured by the Indians. After 
puzzling them for a time with the mysteries of the pocket compass and the 
art of writing, he was rescued from death by Pocahontas, the young daughter 
of the Indian chief, Powhatan, who had decided to kill him. When Smith 



358 OUR NATION: 

returned from his captivity with the savages, he found his colony on the very 
point of breaking up. Only thirty-eight were living, and these were making 
preparations to leave. But the return of their leader inspired them with new 
hope, and they resumed their work. New colonists joined them from Eng- 
land, but they were of a class known as " vagabond gentlemen, who had 
packed off to escape worse destinies at home." The reputation of the colony 
was so bad, that we are told that some, rather than come to Virginia, " chose 
to be hung, and ivcrcy These were the undesirable subjects whom Smith 
was obliged to rule with an authority that none dared to question. But un- 
fortunately for the colony. Smith was obliged to return to England to pro- 
cure surgical treatment for an injury caused by an accidental discharge of 
gunpowder. In six months the colony was again reduced to sixty men, and 
were making ready to depart, when Lord De la Warr, their new governor, 
came and prevented them. Once more the settlement was saved on the very 
verge of dissolution. 

Years of quiet growth followed, and a better class of emigrants came. 
There was a great demand for tobacco, — a new plant unknown to Europe 
until Sir Walter Raleigh introduced it into England; — and the colonists 
found it growing in Virginia, and learned its cultivation from the natives. It 
was in extensive use among the Indians, and was regarded as a medicine. 
The use of this plant spread in England very rapidly, and created a demand 
for its supply, and the Virginians found it a most profitable crop to cultivate. 

In the absence of money, tobacco became a medium of exchange among 
the colonists. Salaries of oflficers and ministers, fines in churches and State, 
were paid with it. In a few years after the first settlements, a representative 
government was established. They had a House of Burgesses composed of 
twenty-two members, who were chosen by the people, with a governor sent 
out from England. The Anglican church was recognized as the State church, 
and the colony was divided into parishes. A college was founded, and the 
Indians \vere friendly. The first European child born in this region of 
America was the daughter of one of Raleigh's colonists, named Dare, and she 
was baptized by the name of Virginia Dare. Pocahontas, who married a 
young Englishman named Rolfe, went to England with her husband, where 
she was kindly received by the queen, and made the recipient of many favors. 
She died at Gravesend, March, 1617, just as she was about to return to 
America with her husband. She left an infant son, from whom some of the 
best known families of Virp;inia are descended. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 359 

THE SETTLEMENT OF NEW ENGLAND. 

A LITTLE more than two centuries ago, the part of the United States 
called New England was one vast forest, with here and there a little clearing 
where a few Indian families made their temporary home, and raised their 
.scanty supply of corn. But it was destined to become the abode of a hardy 
and devout people, who by their industry and frugality were to lay the basis 
•of a mighty nation upon the broad foundation-stones of civil and religious 
liberty. 

A noble band of men in England who were denied the liberty of worship 
which they desired in their own land, resolved to escape to Holland to find 
the freedom denied by their own countrymen. Rev. John Robinson, a wise 
and good man, had been their minister, and after straggling bands of Puritans, 
as they were called, reached Holland, their pastor joined them. They re-, 
mained here eleven years receiving additions, from time to time, from those 
who were anxious to be free from religious oppression. Then it was decided 
to establish a settlement in America where they could be free to worship 
God. 

Enough money was raised to equip and send over one hundred of their 
number to the New World. Two ships were chartered to take them across 
the stormy Atlantic. On a morning in July this vanguard of freedom, gath- 
-ered at Delft Haven, on the river Maese, to listen to the prayers of their 
pastor, and receive his parting blessing. One of the vessels proved unsea- 
worthy. Another, the Mayflower, of one hundred and eighty tons burden, bore 
•one hundred and two of them safely to America. 

After repeated delays, the Mayflower set sail in the early part of Sep- 
tember, 1620, and after a long and stormy voyage, dropped her anchor in the 
waters of Cape Cod Bay on the nth of November of the same year. It was a 
cold and barren coast which met their view, with low sand hills almost devoid 
oi any vegetation, with some low dwarf trees. 

The Pilgrims went out to explore, and finally chose a spot where they 
■decided to found their colony. They landed on the nth of December upon 
Plymouth rock, and began the Colony which they called by the name of the 
city in England which they had left. Here they were in an unknown wilder- 
ness, the wnnter upon them, with scant supplies and no shelter. But they 
worked manfully to build their little town, sadly hindered by the severe cold 
and the death of their comrades, who fell around them. They erected nine- 



36o OUR NATION: 

teen houses, surrounded them with a palisade, and then on the hill they 
erected a building which served the double purpose of a fort and a church. 
The severe winter passed, and when the spring came their numbers had been 
sadly reduced by death ; but soon the health and spirits of the survivors 
began to improve. 

The little band had signed a civil compact in the cabin of the MayfloM^er 
before they landed, in which they formed themselves into a government, and 
chose John Carver as their governor. They acknowledged King James as 
their sovereign, but were emphatically a self-governing commonwealth.. 
They had known enough of the despotism of Kings, and were quite sure that 
democracy could not be any worse, and they had faith to try the experiment. 

From this small beginning came the establishment of political and relig- 
ious liberty in America. 

For some years, the difficulties which beset the infant colonists were well- 
nigh insurmountable, but their faith failed not, and after a time prosperity 
came to them. Each summer new additions were made to their number, of 
men and women who had caught the spirit of religious freedom, and sought 
to find here an asylum from the tyrannies to which they were subject in their 
old homes. Thus New England became the place of refuge to many of the 
wearied victims of persecution, and seemed a paradise to those who were 
denied the right to worship God according to the dictates of conscience. 

The men were stout of heart and patient in toil, and their industry and 
labor brought them comfort. They were simple in manners and plain in 
dress; their wants were few and these were supplied by the harvests of the 
autumn, by their success' in hunting and fishing and by the flocks they raised. 
The women carded, spun and wove the wool. The men felled the forests and 
built houses and vessels, erected cities and formed new towns in the woods.. 
The ships they built crossed the ocean and carried their freights of timber,, 
fish and furs. Commerce sprung up and prosperity smiled upon the settlers.. 
They early made friends with the Indians ; and one of the most pleasant 
episodes in the early days of the Colony was the visit and friendly aid of 
Massasoit, a Sachem who lived at Swansey, now Warren, Rhode Island. 

He came with his brother and sixty warriors to the little settlement in 
March, 162 1, the spring which followed the first severe winter in the new 
world. He made a league of friendship with the English,, and for forty years 
was their staunch friend and protector, never failing them in all their dangers 
and hardships. His influence saved the little band from, destruction by the 



I 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 361 

INTarragansets. Two years after his visit the old chief was taken very sick, 
and would have died if the governor had not sent him Mr. Winslow, who used 
simple remedies which effected a cure; and in his great joy and gratitude he 
said, " Now I see that the English are my friends and love me, and while I 
live I will never forget the kindness they have shown me." The kindness of 
this Indian was of great value to the Colony as long as he lived, and he was 
highly respected by them. 

The Colonists of New England paid great attention to the subject of 
education, believing that it was of vital importance to the preservation of the 
State and Church. In a few years schools began to appear, and a law was 
passed that every town of fifty freeholders should maintain a common school, 
and every town of one hundred must sustain a grammar school. Some 
tolerably qualified brother was chosen and " entreated to become school- 
.master." Harvard College was established within s-ixteen years after the 
Pijgrim fathers landed at Plymouth. 

Twenty-three years after the landing, there were twenty-four thousand 
•white people in New England. There were forty-nine towns, and four 
Colonies, namely, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Haven. 
There seemed at first a desire to scatter widely, push out into the wilderness, 
form new settlements, and set up self-government, each for itself. But this 
separation could not long exist, for there were other human beings in the 
wilderness beside the white settlers, and these had a prior claim there. 
Within calling distance there were Indians enough when aroused and com- 
bined to drive out all the colonists. And beyond the frontiers were French 
.and Dutch settlements. So it came to pass that the four Colonies were 
forced to form themselves for mutual protection and encouragement, into a 
band called " The United Colonies of New England." This was the first 
confederation in a land which was destined afterwards to establish this form 
of government on a scale the world had never seen before. Nor was this 
done any too soon, for there were troublous times to come, and these earnest. 
God-fearing men found that they would need all the strength which a united 
assistance and a common bond would bring. 

Massasoit was dead, and all the efforts of the English to Christianize and 
civilize the natives had produced but little effect. 



362 OUR NyVTION: 

THE INDIAN WAR. 

The jrreat Indian Apostle, Rev. John Eliot, was the pastor of the church 
at Roxbury near Boston. He was moved by pity to carry the Gospel to the 
tribes around him, and for this i)urp()sc he learned their language, and trans- 
lated the Bible by means of an alphabet of his own. He preached to them 
in their own tongue, and many became converts. He even attempted to 
establish a college for the Indian youth, but was obliged to abandon this 
undertaking on account of their natural love of idleness and strong drink. 
They would not work. They could indeed be taught to rest on the Sabbath, 
but they would not labor on the other six days. This was a great cause of 
hindrance, but in spite of the general discouragement, there were many noble 
exceptions, and the hold which Christianity took upon those who accepted it 
was never wholly lost. In the Indian wars which arose, the converts were 
never found fighting against the English, but usually united in aiding them. 

At length came the short but bitter war with King Philip, the }-oungcr son 
of the old chief, Massasoit, the friend of the colonies. Even his enemies will 
acknowledge that this savage chief was a hero. The noble old Sachem, who 
had been faithful to his early friendship with the English, had two sons, whom 
Governor Winslow had named Alexander and Philip. Alexander had suc- 
ceeded his father, but had died, and Philip had become chief and Sachem. 
He was noble-hearted, patriotic, and filled with good sense. He was a states- 
man as well as a warrior, and at first was friendly to the settlers. But he saw 
that the whites were crowding year by year upon his domain; still he kept 
the treaties which his father hatl made, and even submitted to grave insults 
from the white men. There came a time when he could endure this no 
longer, and he arose in war against them. The war spread throughout New 
England, and the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts united to meet 
them. In a week the In(Han chief was driven out of his beautiful home on 
Mount Hope, Rhode Island, and went a fugitive to other tribes, arousing 
them to vengeance. The whites thought the war was over, but it hatl just 
begun. The powerful tribes of the Narragansets joined in the \\ar. The 
Indians avoitled the white- trooi;)S, and carried on tlic warfare, after their 
savage fashion, In- plundering towns and villages, and killing defenseless 
women and children. Whole villages were wiped out, and no one could feel 
safe. The fields, the homes, the churches, the very beds of the poor colonists 
were liable to be attacked w itluuit warning, and a general tTiassacre of all was 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 363 

threatened. Out of one hundred towns twelve were entirely destroyed, and 
more than forty others were more or less plundered. Josiah Winslow, 
General-in-chief of the united colonies, with a brave band of settlers, captured 
the principal fort of the Narragansets, which stood where South Kingston, 
Rhode Island, now is, and destroyed it. Their chief, Canonchet, was soon 
afterwards taken, and offered his life if he would submit; but he proudly 
refused. When he was condemned to death, he said, " I like it well ; I shall 
die before I speak anything unworthy of myself." 

The close of 1676 brought an end to the war; King Philip saw that he 
could not prevent the other tribes from making peace, and the most of his 
own warriors had fallen. When he heard that his wife and child had been 
taken by the English, he exclaimed in his anguish, " My heart breaks; now I 
am ready to die." 

He was shot in a swamp by a traitor Indian, and his body was given to 
Captain Church, the famous Indian fighter and commander of a party pursu- 
ing Philip and his warriors. According to custom, the head of Philip was 
severed from his body, and carried on a pole to Plymouth, where it was set 
up in sight of the people for a number of days. The body was quartered and 
hung on trees. In this way did the New England colonists retaliate upon 
the Indian warrior and statesman, who labored and fought for the rights of 
his tribe. There were now scarcely one hundred of the Narragansets left, 
and Philip's son, who, with his mother, had been made a prisoner before his 
father's death, the sole survivor of the family of Massasoit, was carried to 
Bermuda and sold into slavery. 

Annawon was the next in command over the Indian forces after the 
death of Philip, and the same captain, Benjamin Church, who had taken the 
head of the king to Plymouth, was sent to capture him. Church became 
separated from his company, and had only one white man and five friendly 
Indians when he heard where Annawon and his band of fifty warriors were 
encamped. These men succeeded in surprising the chief, and taking him a 
captive to Boston, where he was put to death by the English, after he had 
surrendered all the royal emblems of Philip. The white people had no ex- 
cuse for this act of wanton cruelty. 



364 OUR NATION: 

SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK. 

Hendrick Hudson, an explorer in the employ of the Dutch, had dis- 
cov^ered and sailed up the river \vhich bears his name, in the year 1609. 
Three or four years after the Pilgrims had landed at Plymouth, the Dutch 
West India Company resolved to establish a trading post with the Indians. 
They sent out a settlement in 1623, which located on Manhattan island at the 
mouth of the (present) Hudson River, and built a town which was afterwards 
called New Amsterdam. They prospered until they became involved in war 
with the Indians, when, at times, the colony appeared on the brink of ruin. 
They built a wooden wall or palisade across the island where Wall Street is now 
situated. The war came to an end, and for eighteen years afterwards there 
was a time of peace and prosperity under the government of a wise and 
sagacious man, Peter Stuyvesant. While his government was not faultless, 
the province flourished under it, and a continued flow of emigration came in 
from Europe. In the year 1664, an English fleet appeared in the harbor to 
demand the territory in the name of their sovereign. Charles II. had given 
his brother, James, Duke of York, the whole of the territory of New Nether- 
lands embracing New Jersey. 

Stuyvesant was willing to fight the invaders, but the English settlers 
would not fight against their king, and the Dutch, who remembered some of 
the petty tyrannies of their governor, would not join him. At length he 
yielded to the entreaties of two ministers and many of the people, and the 
city of fifteen hundred inhabitants quietly passed into the hands of the 
English, when its name was changed to New York. With this city the 
Dutch also gave up their settlements in New Jersey, including those made 
by the Swedes, which they had absorbed, and so the English had possession 
of the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts Bay to Georgia. 

THE LAND OF PENN. 

William Penn, the son of an English admiral, who had won many 
noted victories for the Crown, became a Quaker, to the disappointment of his 
friends, just at the time when a brilliant future was spread out before him. 
At first the father was furious and turned his son out of doors, hoping that 
hunger would soon cause him to recant; but the admiral finally relented and 
restored him to favor. When his father died, soon after the reconciliation, 



t 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 365 

young Penn inherited his possessions, and among the rest a claim for $80,000 
due the admiral from the king. Penn, who had formed in his mind a design 
to establish a settlement in America for the persecuted members of his own 
sect, offered to take payment of the king in land ; and Charles was ready 
enough to bestow upon his subject a vast region stretching westward from 
the Delaware River. Penn then came to America with the noble purpose of 
founding a free and self-governing State, where, as he said, he could show 
men as free and " as happy as they can be." He proclaimed to the men who 
were already settled within his territory, " Whatever sober and free men can 
reasonably desire, I will comply with." He was true to his word; and when 
in 1683, he met representatives of the settlers, in an Assembly, he gave to the 
people a " Charter of Liberties," signed and sealed by his own hand. He 
had also dealt honorably and kindly with the Indians, and bought their lands 
of them, and in return they respected and loved him. The conference with 
the natives was held under a large elm which stood in the forest where Phila- 
delphia now is, and a monument marked the spot for fully two centuries. 
All was to be " openness and love," and " no advantage was to be taken on 
either side." For long years the Indians recounted the words of Penn; and 
the blood of a Quaker was never shed by an Indian on the soil of Pennsyl- 
vania. 

The fame of Penn's new State went abroad to all lands, and it grew very 
rapidly with grave and God-fearing men, who came from all parts of Europe, 
During the first year, two thousand persons arrived, and Philadelphia became 
a town of six hundred houses. A few years later Penn returned to England, 
and reported that "things went on sweetly with the Friends in Pennsylvania; 
that they increased finely, in outward things and in wisdom." 

The settlement of Pennsylvania was founded in 1682. 

SETTLEMENTS IN THE OTHER COLONIES. 

The thirteen original States were Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, 
New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Connecticut was settled by men and women from Massachusetts, in two 
colonies. One came through the wilderness and settled at Windsor above 
Hartford; the other came by water and settled at New Haven. 

Rhode Island was settled by Roger Williams, a minister of Salem, who. 



366 OUR NATION: 

by his outspoken opinions about "soul liberty" had offended clergy and 
magistrates. He declared that the State had to do only with the " bodies 
and goods and outward estates" of men. In the domain of conscience God 
alone was the ruler. He was banished and went to the wilderness, where he 
obtained a grant of land from the Indians and laid the foundation of the 
State of Rhode Island. He founded the city of Providence and proclaimed 
that his settlement was to become a " shelter for persons distressed for con- 
science sake." And so has it ever been. 

New Hampshire was settled by colonists from Massachusetts, of which it 
was a part from 1641 to 1679. 

Delaware was so named in honor of Lord De la Warr, who came to Vir- 
ginia as governor, in 161 1, and gave great relief to the settlers at Jamestown, 
who were about to abandon it. It was first settled by Swedes, in 1637, but 
passed into the hands of the Dutch, in 1655. Penn afterward- obtained pos- 
session of it, when it was annexed to Pennsylvania. It was returned to its 
former condition of a separate colony, in 1703. 

Maryland was first the recipient of intended settlers in 1731, by a band 
of adventurers from Virginia under William Clayborne. In 1632, Lord Balti- 
more received a charter from the King, making it a distinct province, when it 
was named " Maryland " in honor of the Queen. 

New Jersey was first settled by the Dutch, in 1620, and by the Swedes 
and Danes in 1637. It afterwards passed into the hands of the English,, 
when they took possession of New Netherland (New York) in 1664. 

North Carolina was permanently settled under a grant from King Charles. 
II., in 1663. John Locke, the metaphysician, and the Earl of Shaftesbury, 
prepared a " fundamental Constitution for the two Carolina colonies," aristo- 
cratic in every feature, but it was never accepted by the American settlers, 
and after many years it was abandoned. 

South Carolina received its first well-defined settlement in 1670, when Sir 
William Sayle and a company of adventurers, under a charter from Charles 
II., planted a colony on the shores of Port Royal Sound. In 1680, English 
families settled at Oyster Point, where they founded the city of Charleston. 

Georgia was the latest of the colonies that formed the original Union, 
and the farthest south of any of the English possessions in America during 
the time of colonial history. It was settled in 1733, when General Oglethorpe 
founded the city of Savannah. He obtained a charter from George II. of 
all the land between the Savannah River and the Altamaha, extending west- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 367 

ward to the Pacific Ocean. It was designed chiefly as an asylum for bettering 
the condition of English prisoners for debt, and for a refuge from persecution 
of 'Protestants in Germany and elsewhere. Parliament appropriated $160,000 
for the enterprise. In 1733, General Oglethorpe, at the head of 120 emi- 
grants, planted the seeds of a colony on the site of the city of Savannah- 
The next year a hundred Germans came and were assigned a place, which 
they in gratitude named Ebenezer. They were steady and industrious, and 
some of them eagerly applied themselves to the raising of silk and indigo. 
The fame of the colony spread through Europe and attracted large numbers. 
Thus was planted on the eastern shore of the continent a chain of English, 
colonies like a vanguard, which was in time to conquer the wilderness and fill 
the land with busy towns and thriving villages. The hum of machinery was; 
to be heard along its water-courses. Its hills were to resound to the whistle 
of the shop and locomotive. The wharves of its cities were to be crowded 
with commerce from all parts of the world, and a stream of emigration was 
to pour in from all the crowded nations of the East, and an empire would be 
erected upon the foundation which these feeble colonies were laying. Each 
distinct, with no common bond but the slight allegiance to a distant sover- 
eign, they were to become united in one mighty compact, and together give 
the world its highest example of a free government of the people and for the 
people. These earnest men builded better than they knew, and shaped the 
destinies of the unborn millions who should come after them. 



THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 

After the establishment of the colonies which stretched along the Atlan- 
tic co.ast from the Penobscot to the Altamaha, and owned allegiance to the 
English king, there came a period of formation and growth in which they 
developed their natural resources and established their commerce, built col- 
leges and seminaries, and grew in all things which increased their prosperity 
and strength. The Indian tribes were subdued, the forests were cleared and 
cities and towns sprang up as if by magic. Manufactories were built and 
agriculture was flourishing. The colonies were left alone by the home gov- 
ernment and allowed to direct their own affairs. In some cases a governor 
was sent from England to rule the colony, but the laws were enacted by 
representatives chosen by the people. In others the people had the right to 
elect their own governors. They regulated their own commerce and inter- 



368 OUR NATION: 

nal trade and directed their own taxation and system of religion and edu- 
cation. 

We will take a hasty glance at the condition of each colony during this 
period. 

In New England we will find some things that may surprise us. The 
early settlers had been a religious, sensible people, but when they left Europe 
there was a universal belief in witchcraft. King James had written a strange 
book on Demonology, in which he said that to forbear to put witches to 
death was an " odious treason against God," and the people were no wiser 
than their king. 

The superstition spread to America, or was brought thither by the ship- 
loads of emigrants who were flocking over the sea to find a home here. All 
at once it burst out like a fearful scourge in the little town of Salem, Massa- 
chusetts, now a fine city. 

There was here a minister by the name of Parris. The daughter and the 
niece of this clergyman fell ill of a strange nervous disorder. The doctors 
-claimed that they were bewitched, and the minister set out at once to find out 
who were the offenders. Three old women were suspected, and taken into 
custody. From this the mania spread, and every one became alarmed and 
suspicious. No one was safe. Witches were supposed to ride in the air at 
night. Even the beasts were not safe ; and once a dog was solemnly con- 
demned to death for taking some part in a satanic festival. 

The prisons were filled with the accused, and a score of persons were 
put to death. The town of Falmouth hanged its minister; and the wise and 
intelligent were no more secure than the low and ignorant. The wild panic 
lasted for more than six months. Those who confessed that they were wiz- 
ards or witches were set free for the most part, while those who denied it 
were judged guilty and punished. Many refused to buy their life by false- 
hood and miserably perished. The delusion spread wide like a forest fire, 
until the whole colony was filled with terror. But the reaction came as 
suddenly as the outbreak of the mania. The Governor put an end to the 
persecution, stopped the prosecutions, dismissed all the suspected, and par- 
doned the condemned ; and the General Court proclaimed a fast. They en- 
treated that God would pardon the errors of the people " in the late tragedy 
caused by Satan and his instruments." One of the judges with bowed head 
stood in his pew in a church in Boston while a paper was read asking the 
prayers of the congregation, that the innocent blood which he had shed in 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 369 

error might not be laid to him or the country. The Salem jury asked for- 
giveness of God and of the community for what they had done under the 
power of a strong and general delusion. Reverend Mr. Parris was obliged to 
resign his church and leave the town a broken man. The error of New Eng- 
land had been great and lamentable, but her repentance was deep and sincere. 
Strange as was this widespread delusion, there is another chapter in colonial 
history none the less strange. The very men who had come across the ocean 
to find religious liberty, in their turn became persecutors and bigots. They 
had discovered that the restraints laid upon them for conscience' sake were 
unjust and grievous, and while they claimed toleration for themselves they 
had not learned that others had as good a right to think for themselves. 

After enjoying a few years of religious liberty there began to arise strange 
doctrines, which they thought it their duty to put down at all hazards. Roger 
Williams, a young clergyman — " godly and zealous" — landed in Boston in 
163 1, with strange notions which he had brought with him. He had been 
the friend of John Milton and taught him the Dutch language. Long and 
serious study had convinced him that in regard to creed and form of worship, 
man was alone responsible to his Creator, and no one is entitled to lay com- 
pulsion upon another man in reference to his religious opinions. 

The colonists were not ready to receive these opinions, although Williams 
was settled as a pastor over the church in Salem, where he was held in high 
esteem. But his bold preaching drew down upon him the wrath of the 
authorities, and, deserted by most of his church, he was banished and escaped 
to the wilderness of Rhode Island where he established a colony for perfect 
religious toleration, as we have observed. 

Williams had a forgiving spirit and twice saved the Puritan colonies 
from their enemies. But they continued to persecute the Baptists, and when 
the Quakers came to Boston the General Court proclaimed a fast, and cast 
them into prison. Their books were burned by the common hangman, and 
shipmasters were forbidden to bring any Quakers into the colony. They 
were publicly whipped through the streets of Boston, tied to carts, and were 
banished under penalty of death if they returned. Four persons suffered 
death ; others were long imprisoned. The Quakers had friends at home, and 
in 1661 a letter came in the king's name directing that the authorities in New 
England should forbear to proceed farther against the Quakers. The letter 
came by the hand of a Quaker who w^as under sentence of death if he returned. 



370 OUR NATION: 

But they did not dare to do otherwise than respect it. With this closed the 
most shameful chapter in the history of New England. 

A writer on the history of these times offers the following excuse for the 
persecution of this peaceful sect: "But, in justice to New England, it must 
be told that the first generation of Quakers differed extremely from succeed- 
ing generations. They were a fanatical people, — extravagant, intemperate 
in speech, rejectors of lawful authority. They believed themselves guided by 
an ' inner light,' which habitually placed them at variance with the laws and 
customs of the country in which they lived. George Fox declared that ' the 
Lord forbade him to put off his hat to any man.' His followers were provok- 
ingly aggressive. They invaded public worship. They openly expressed their 
contempt for the religion of their neighbors. They perpetually came with 
* messages from the Lord,' which were not pleasant to listen to. They 
appeared in public places very imperfectly attired, thus symbolically to 
express and to rebuke the spiritual nakedness of the time. The second gen- 
eration of New England Quakers were people of beautiful lives, spiritual- 
minded, hospitable, and just. When their zeal allied itself with discretion, 
they became a most valuable element in American society. They have 
iirmly resisted all social evils. But we can scarcely wonder that they created 
alarm at first. The men of New England took a very simple view of the 
subject. They had bought and paid for every acre of soil which they occu- 
pied. Their country was a homestead from which they might exclude whom 
they chose. They would not receive men whose object seemed to be to over- 
throw their customs, civil and religious. It was a mistake, but a most natural 
mistake. Long afterwards, when New England saw her error, she made what 
amends she could by giving compensation to the representatives of those 
Quakers who had suffered in the evil times." 

THE GROWTH AND GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONIES. 

At the first there was some diversity in the form of government in the 
different colonies, but as time passed on this lessened, and one general type 
came to be in force in them all. The governor was appointed by the king, and 
he had to depend upon the assembly of representatives chosen from the 
people, for the moneys needed to carry on the government and execute its 
laws. So as the time of separation drew near the governors found their 
powers very much circumscribed by the h.eavy pressure which the Assembly 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 371 

brought to bear upon them. When the governor as the king's representative 
had a falling out with the popular will as expressed by the representatives of 
the Commonwealth, the latter assumed the whole business of government. 
The people were, in fact, self-governing, who felt a pride in their connection 
with the mother country, but if their governors encroached too much upon 
their rights, they were ready to resist them to the utmost. Virginia had two 
councils at first, one appointed by the king, and the other elected by the 
colonists, but both were under control of the king. In a few years the rep- 
resentative system prevailed, but the governor retained the power of veto. 
She was more closely allied to the Crown than the more northern colonies, 
and remained loyal to the Stuarts. Virginia refused to recognize the Pro- 
tector, Oliver Cromwell. Refugees from England were gladly received in 
Virginia during these troublous times, and when the Stuarts were returned 
to power, her then ruling class rejoiced. 

On the other hand the colonists of New England had come to America 
to get rid of kingly rule, and were of a different spirit and temper. In the 
little cabin of the Mayflower they had signed their compact of government 
and selected their own governor. Every member of the church was an elec- 
tor, and could hold office. This democratic form of government continued 
for sixty years, until the despotic James II. took it away and appointed a 
governor of his own choosing. They cordially supported Cromwell, and 
hesitated for two years after the restoration of Charles II. before they recog- 
nized him as their king. These colonies were the most democratic and the 
least tolerant of kingly interference of any of the colonies in the New World. 
New York, which had been given to the Duke of York, had its governor 
appointed by him. Pennsylvania was bestowed upon Penn, who had a right 
to name its governor. But at last all the colonies came to receive a governor 
from the king. Connecticut held out longer than the rest, and when the gov- 
ernor, appointed by the king, came to Hartford to demand the charter of the 
colony; it was hidden in the hollow of an oak tree, afterward known as the 
Charter Oak. 

While the colonies had as yet no thought of separation from the Old 
Country they were still in the presence of a common enemy. The French 
had taken Canada and the present State of Louisiana, and thus were stretch- 
ing down from the north, and up from the south, a line of trading posts and 
settlements, which was a continual menace to the western frontier of the 
English colonies. The French incited the Indians to attack the English, and 



372 OUR NATION: 

there were constant incursions upon the pioneers who were moving west- 
ward from the coast. Sooner or later the trial of strength must come between 
these rival forces. The French claimed the Mississippi River and the fertile 
valley of the Ohio. To establish this claim, they sent three hundred soldiers 
into this valley and buried in the ground leaden plates bearing the French 
coat of arms, and drove out the scattering English who had ventured there. 
The English, on their part, had given large grants of land to a trading com- 
pany, who agreed to colonize the valley, establish trading relations with the 
natives, and a competent military force. This was in 1749, and then the two 
nations were preparing for war. The home government left the colonies to 
carry on the struggle for themselves. 

In 1753 the Governor of Virginia sent a young man twenty-one years of 
age on a delicate mission to the commander of French forces on the head- 
waters of the Ohio River. His name was George Washington, a name des- 
tined, some years later, to become famous over the whole world. Marching 
for Fort Duquesne, with some Virginia forces, in the Spring of 1754, Wash- 
ington, then a major of militia, met, fought and defeated a French force. He 
fell back, and built a stockade which he called Fort Necessity. With rein- 
forcements he pushed on toward Fort Duquesne, but was pressed back to his 
fort, which was attacked and captured. Washington surrendered on honor- 
able terms, and returned to Virginia. In this brief campaign was shed the 
first blood in the contest known as the French and Indian War. 

This campaign was honorable to Washington, but resulted in no especial 
advantage to the colonies. This contest between the colonies of the French 
and English was going on for a year and a half before war was declared 
between the two great nations. But the English were aroused to the necessity 
of doing something to secure the rich Ohio valley, and they sent Edward 
Braddock, an officer of distinction, with two regiments of soldiers, to aid the 
colonies. He began his campaign in 1755, with two thousand troops. He 
had learned the best rules of war in the broad battle-fields of Europe, but was 
perfectly unacquainted with the rude tactics of the West. Washington was 
invited to join his staff, and the young man, eager to retrieve his loss in the 
former campaign, assented. The English general started on his march, June 
lOth, to reach Fort Duquesne, on the Ohio, the great centre of French power 
in the West. It was the objective point of Washington in his former expedition, 
and was deemed of great importance. This fort had been partly built by the 
English and taken from them and completed by the French. Benjamin Fi-anklin 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 375 

told General Braddock that " he would undoubtedly take the fort if he could 
reach it, but the long slender line which his army must form on the march 
would be cut like a thread in several pieces by the hostile Indians." Brad- 
dock " smiled at his ignorance." Franklin offered no further opinion, but 
performed his duties of collecting horses and equipage for the army. The 
young aid-de-camp, Washington, offered some suggestions based on his expe- 
rience, but the general would not listen to any advice from a provincial sub- 
ordinate. No scouts were sent out, and the commander did not know how 
near his unseen foes might be. He was marching along a road near the 
Monongahela River twelve feet wide, when suddenly an Indian war whoop 
burst upon the air, and a murderous fire opened upon them. The battle lasted 
three hours and General Braddock was mortally wounded. " Who would 
have thought it ? " said the dying man as they carried him from the field. 

Washington was the only mounted officer who remained unharmed, 
while the regulars, seeing their general fall, fled in confusion. But young 
Washington rallied the provincials and covered the retreat of the regulars 
with such a desperate defense that the Indians did not follow. One half of 
the entire force had been killed, and the remainder returned, disheartened 
and broken, at the end of a disastrous expedition. 

War was now proclaimed between France and England, and the siege of 
Quebec by the English and its capture by troops under General Wolfe in 
1759, with the surrender of Montreal in 1760, established the English posses- 
sion of Canada and the lake region and beyond. 

The English fleet came to Quebec in June, 1759, with a large force. 
Captain James Cook, the famous navigator, who, thirteen years later, sailed 
around the world, was in charge of one of the ships, and General Wolfe had 
command of the army. The city was divided into an upper town, on the 
heights of Abraham, beyond the reach of the guns from the fleet, and a lower 
town, on the banks of the St. Charles River. The lower town was quickly 
reduced, but the upper town held out against any attempt of the English. 
But the enthusiastic young general was not to be bafifled, and carefully searched 
the high banks of the St. Lawrence. He found an opening where a path led 
up to the heights above, and here Wolfe resolved to land his men, lead an 
attack and capture the French position, or perish in the attempt.. One night 
in September, he landed his men silently, and they quietly clambered up the 
high hill, while the sailors contrived to drag up a few heavy guns. When 
the morning rose the whole Britis-h army stood on the Heights of Abraham. 



374 OUR NATION: 

Montcalm, the French commander, was so taken by surprise at the pres- 
ence of the enemy, that he refused to beheve the first report which came to 
him. But he lost no time in forming his line of battle, and made a fierce and 
bloody contest w^ith his unexpected assailants. Both generals fell in the con- 
flict, Wolfe dying happy at the thought of the French defeat. As his blood 
was flowing he heard the shouts, " They fly ! They fly ! " He raised his head 
to ask, " Who fly? " " The French," was the answer. " Then I die content," 
said the hero. The French General died thankful that he would not live to 
suffer the mortification of being compelled to surrender to the English. These 
men died as enemies, but after-generations blended the two names upon a 
common monument, which marks out to posterity the scene of this decisive 
battle. The French made an ineffectual attempt to regain Quebec the follow- 
ing year. In due time the French surrendered Canada to the English; at the 
same time Spain gave up Florida to England ; and thus the English held 
undisputed possession of America from the regions of perpetual ice and snow 
to the Gulf of Mexico. 

All these contests with the savages and the French had fallen with heavi- 
est weight upon the colonists, although they had received some assistance 
from the home government in the latter part of the struggle. The colonies 
had poured out their blood and treasure without stint and were loyal to their 
king. They were proud of the mother country, and were willing to do their 
utmost to support the honor of the English flag. A hundred and fifty years 
had passed since the settlement of the feeble colonies on the Atlantic cosat. 
They w^ere self-sustaining and prosperous, and their increase in numbers and 
wealth was most remarkable. Thousands were coming every year to seek 
their fortunes in the West. America opened her wide arms to the oppressed 
and offered them the blessing of liberty and comfort. The thirteen colonies 
had increased in population to three millions and were upon the eve of a 
mighty struggle. 

THE GATHERING CLOUD. 

It maybe a natural question to ask, how it came to pass that in the short 
•space of ten or twelve years the affection and respect which the colonies had 
for England, which they still fondly called " home," were changed to hatred 
and a desire for separation ? What cause had been at work to sever the bonds 
of attachment, and awaken the m.ighty spirit of resistance which spread all 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 375 

'Over the country ? For generations they had spoken the same language, and 
had a common code of laws, while glorying in the history of the past. 

England was the model in all things, and to be an " Old England man " 
gave one a prestige and position among the colonists; while all yielded a will- 
ing obedience to her laws. They were governed, as Benjamin Franklin had 
:said, " at the mere expense of ink and paper." Money was voted without 
•grudge by their Assemblies, and all the relations between the colonies and 
the home government were of the pleasantest kind, and such was their love 
for England that " they were led by a thread." 

But a wonderful change was wrought in the public mind, and the aroused 
people resolved in their puhlic gatherings by the most solemn compact, that 
they would not use any article of English manufacture, or engage in any 
transaction which would bring money into the pockets of the English. They 
'Often treated roughly any person who expressed friendliness for the British ; 
defied the acts of parliament; resisted the authority of royal governors; 
treated with scorn the soldiers sent to enslave them, and at times were on 
the verge of open rebellion and armed resistance. 

What caused this wonderful change, and how were these numerous obe- 
•dient subjects taught to despise and fight against the very men whom they 
had before regarded as fellow countrymen ? The answer to these questions 
■can be summed up in one sentence. The persistent ignorance and folly of the 
English government of the nature and spirit of its American colonies, urged 
on by cupidity and a desire to wring out of the prosperous colonies a rich 
revenue to replenish the depleted treasury of the country that had become 
exhausted in the expensive wars of Europe, wrought all this evil, and lost to 
the English crown her richest possessions in the Western World. The result 
was that a new nation was formed that was destined to become the leading 
power of Christendom. It would have been better if she had gone in peace, 
and thus not engendered an animosity that lasted for two generations, and 
led to two disastrous wars between men of the same language and religion. 
We come now to the story of these struggles. 

England had shown for many years a disposition to govern her Ameri- 
can colonies in a spirit of harshness and undisguised selfishness. The interest 
of England was the chief object, and not the good of the colonies. No for- 
eign vessels could land in American ports, and woolen fabrics could not be 
taken from one colony to another. At one time the manufacture of hats was 
forbidden. Iron works were prohibited, and up to the last restrictive naviga- 



376 OUR NATION: 

tion laws bound colonial commerce hand and foot. The colonies had borne 
the expense of their own governments and defenses, but now the long-con- 
tinued struggle had left the treasury of England very low, and Parliament 
came to discuss the propriety of taxing the colonies for the benefit of the 
home government. The eager eye of Lord Grenville was searching for some- 
thing new to tax, and he saw that America was growing rich and powerful. 
The English officers who had served in the West, had brought back the most 
glowing accounts of its resources and prosperity. The English merchants 
were already envious of their increasing wealth. When the House of Com- 
mons passed their resolution setting forth their right to tax the colonies, not 
a single voice or vote opposed the measure. Tlfereupon an act was passed 
imposing a tax upon silks, sugar, coffee, and other articles used in the colo- 
nies. The Americans remonstrated, and claimed that taxation and represen- 
tation should go together ; they were willing to vote what money the king might 
require of them, but they would not pay taxes when they had no voice in 
laying them. But Lord Grenville, who thought the Americans would finally 
submit, persisted in his course. The act called the Stamp Act was passed at 
the next session of Parliament in 1765, A\'hich required a government stamp^ 
on all legal documents. Benjamin Franklin told the House of Commons that 
America would never submit to this, and no power on earth could e»nforce it. 
Nor could England long misunderstand the position of the colonies upon this 
question. In many places in New England and elsewhere riots occurred, 
and the Stamp Act was denounced. 

The stamp distributors were obliged to resign. A universal protest that 
they would not eat, drink, or use anything which came from England, was 
expressed by the citizens everywhere. The act came in force on November 
1st, 1765, and on that day the bells tolled, and the people appeared as if some- 
great public calamity had fallen upon them. 

Not a stamp was sold in America, but business went on all the same ; 
men and women were married, and merchants bought and sold goods. The 
courts were held and all the functions of government went on ; but all this 
was illegal because it was done without stamps. Yet no serious harm came 
of it. The English were astonished, and some demanded that the Stamp Act 
be enforced with the sword, but the British merchants feared the loss of their 
trade with the colonies if this were done. 

William Pitt, afterwards the Earl of Chatham, joined with the merchants 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 377 

and caused a repeal of the law the very next year. But stubborn old King 
George never ceased to regret " the fatal repeal of the Stamp Act." 

The third intercolonial Congress assembled at New York during the ex- 
citement. It is known as the Stamp Act Congress. They adopted a Declara- 
tion of Rights, and accomplished a good design in showing the tendency of 
Union between the States. 

The approaching crisis was delayed for a little time by the repeal of the 
Stamp Act. But when the feeling in England was stormy against the col- 
onies, Charles Townshend, the virtual Prime Minister of England, during the 
sickness of Pitt, proposed to levy various taxes on America. All his proposed 
measures became laws. The most obnoxious of them was a tax of three 
pence a pound on tea. This act was passed in 1767. 

The Americans despaired of justice and right from the English Parlia- 
ment, yet they hardly dared to think of open separation, but already the most 
thoughtful among them were becoming fixed in their opinion as to what the 
issue would be. They protested, they appealed, they held large public meet- 
ings, and everywhere the people were inflamed with a sense of their injuries, 
other laws restricting the liberties of America were passed by Parliament, 
and the people prepared to resort to the last step in the solution of the fear- 
ful problem. Riots occurred; the foreign of^cials were resisted, and public 
meetings were held to deliberate upon their grievances. 

British troops were sent across the ocean to preserve order. Their pres- 
ence was galling to the citizens, who could not brook this restraint upon their 
liberty. 

The press, the pulpit, and the assemblies of representatives in all the col- 
onies were bold in their utterances against the tyranny of the old country. 
The General Court of Massachusetts called on their governor to remove the 
soldiers, but he was powerless. The governor called upon the court to raise 
money to maintain the troops, and they took infinite pleasure in refusing to 
raise money for that purpose. . Then came the " Boston Massacre," (March, 
1770), in which the troops fired upon the citizens, and killed and wounded 
eleven persons. This inflamed the zeal of the patriots still more, and the 
entire populace was aroused. The people again demanded the removal of 
the troops from the city, and the trial of the soldiers for murder. This was 
complied with, and two of the soldiers were found guilty of murder, by a 
Boston jury. 

Parliament now wavered in its treatment of America, and removed all 



378 OUR NATION: 

the duties, except the small one on tea. But they had mistaken the feeling" 
of their colonies. It was not the amount of the tax to which they objected, 
but the principle of taxation without representation. 

In the autumn of 1773, ships laden with taxed tea arrived in Boston 
harbor. The crisis had now arrived. The excited people met and considered 
the situation. If that tea should be landed and sold, liberty in America would 
become a by-word. It was resolved not to allow it to be landed. 

Samuel Adams, a man of strict integrity and powerful eloquence as a. 
speaker and writer, was the true leader of the revolt in Massachusetts. He 
was one of the first who saw at the outset that there could be no stopping- 
place short of independence. " We are free," he said, " and want no king." 
He assumed the leadership of his fellows, and was worthy of the trust. They 
hoped that the consignees of the East Indian Company, in whose employ the 
ships were engaged, would send them back, but they refused. Days of in- 
tense excitement followed. Public meetings were held constantly in a church 
and in Faneuil Hall, afterward known as the cradle of American liberty. One 
day the debate waxed hot, and the people continued together till night-fall. 
Samuel Adams announced, " This meeting can do nothing more to save the 
country," and with a shout it broke up. The excited crowd hastened down 
to the wharf, led by fifty men disguised as Indians. This band of disguised 
men rushed on shipboard, broke open the boxes of tea, and poured their 
contents into the harbor. The crowd looked on in silence, and not a sound 
was heard but the striking of the hatchets, and the splash of the ruined tea in ' 
the water. That cargo of tea would bring no taxes into the English treasury, 
that was certain. This was on the night of December i6th, 1773, and was the 
first move of the colonists toward open resistance. Then they waited to see 
what might be the next move of England. 

Lord North was then Prime Minister of the English Crown, and he de- 
termined to deal harshly with such men. The port of Boston was closed as a 
port of entry and sailing for shipping; a heavy fine was imposed for the de- 
struction of the tea. The charter of Massachusetts was revoked, and the 
governor was ordered to send political offenders to England for trial. In 
spite of the remonstrance of Lord Chatham, and of Edmund Burke, these- 
measures became laws. Four regiments of regulars were sent to Boston, 
under the command of General Gage. The Americans held a day of fasting 
and prayer. More than this, they organized military companies, and began 
the process of equipment and drill. While all this was going on in the north- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 379 

ern provinces, the other Colonies were not idle, but Massachusetts received 
the heaviest blows of vengeance. An iivvitation to all the Colonies to meet 
in General Congress at Philadelphia, on the fifth day of September, 1774, was 
sent out by the sturdy Representatives of Massachusetts, who met in Salem. 
Twelve States sent delegations to this Congress. Georgia, the youngest and 
most southern of the thirteen Colonies, alone stood trembling upon the verge 
of the perilous enterprise. 

The first General Congress of the American commonwealth, met in Car- 
penter's Hall, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 5th day of September, 1774, 
agreeable to this call. The regular business of the Congress began on the 
7th, and was opened with prayer. In all their proceedings, decorum, firmness, 
moderation and loyalty were manifested, and the delegates voted to adjourn 
to the loth day of the following May, unless the English Crown in the mean- 
time should redress their specified grievances. But King George was blind 
and stubborn. 

Lord Chatham said in open Parliament of the men who formed this Con- 
tinental Congress : " For solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity, and wisdom 
of conclusion under such a complication of circumstances, no nation, or body 
of men can stand in preference to the General Congress in Philadelphia." 
Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was President, and Charles Thompson, of 
Pennsylvania, was secretary of this body. George Washington, Patrick 
Henry, John Rutledge, Richard Henry Lee, John Dickinson, and other men 
of that stamp were there. Washington assures us that this Congress did not 
aim at independence, but a removal of wrongs. The time was ripe for open 
resistance, and the patriots of Massachusetts were busy in the autumn and 
winter of 1774, in making preparations for war, and uniting the people to 
meet the storm that was sure to come. 



THE BURSTING OF THE STORM. 

No alternative was now left to the colonists, and they saw that they 
must fight for their liberties or forego them altogether. Throughout the 
State of Massachusetts, where the heel of the oppressor was planted the 
heaviest, the most active preparations were in progress. Minute-men were 
drilling, and stores of arms and ammunition were being collected in central 
places, where they would be considered safe from seizure by the British. The 
press and the pulpit vied with the rostrum in their bold defiance of the ag- 



38o OUH NATION: 

gression of the soldiers. Fathers and sons were urged on by their wives and 
mothers, and the spirit of freedom incited them to deeds of danger and sac- 
rifice. The officers of the English Government were despised, the soldiers 
were defied, and the laws were set at defiance. Such was the condition of 
things when the spring of 1775 dawned upon the conflict. This is regarded 
as the first year of the long struggle of seven years which was to test the 
strength of the young country in her contest with the victorious armies of 
English warriors who came fresh from the battle-fields of Europe. 

General Gage, the commander of the British forces in Boston, had learned 
that a large amount of military stores were secreted at Concord, eighteen 
miles away. He decided to send an expedition to seize it in the king's name. 
He sent eight hundred soldiers upon the errand. To prevent the tidings 
from being carried to the patriots the general forbade any one going out of 
Boston. The troops were silently embarked at the foot of the Common 
where the tide then reached and landed on the main. Doctor Warren, after- 
wards killed at Bunker Hill, made arrangements with his friend, Paul Re- 
vere, to carry " the tidings to every Middlesex village and farm." Young 
Revere escaped from Boston in a small boat just five minutes before the 
guard was stationed to prevent any one from leaving the city. He was to 
notify Hancock and Adams who were at Lexington, and to arouse the people 
all along the route. Revere waited on the Charlestown shore until his friend 
should learn how the British were to proceed. He was to hang a lantern in 
the North Church tower, "one if by land and two if by sea." At the instant 
the twin lights appeared upon the tower, Revere dashed off in the darkness 
and spread the tidings. He reached Lexington and warned Hancock and 
Adams. Then he proceeded toward Concord, but was arrested by a British 
guard, not, however, until he had communicated the news to a friend, who 
carried it forward. 

The British, who had crossed the Charles River and marched all night, 
reached Lexington just as day was breaking. The minute-men were called 
by the beating of the drum, and about one hundred militia were gathered to 
meet eight times as many trained soldiers. 

There they stood on the Common, on a very warm morning as the regu- 
lars came up. Captain Jonas Parker had ordered them not to fire on the 
British until the latter had first fired on them. Major Pitcairn rode up and 
ordered the "villains" and "rebels," with an oath to disperse, and instantly 
commanded his men to fire on them. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 381 

The captain of the Continentals had intended to disperse his men, but 
the fire of the British had killed eight and wounded several; about cfne-fifth 
of the whole. The British fire was returned only by a few of the wounded 
men ; and three Englishmen were wounded. But the war had begun by the 
cold-blooded murder of Americans on their own soil. 

It was no battle, and the act of the British ofificer was nothing less than 
wanton murder. Samuel Adams said when he heard it, ",0h! what a glorious 
morning this is," knowing that it would rally and unite all the people. The 
regulars cheered over their triumph of a few score farmers, who had not 
attacked them, and pressed on to Concord. They reached here at seven in 
the morning, but were too late, for the news of their coming had preceded 
them several hours. The military stores had most of them been removed and 
hidden away, and but little remained for them to destroy. In the mean time 
the towns all around had been aroused, and the militia were pouring in from 
every direction. There were not enough to attack the troops nor were there 
any serious thoughts of doing so, and they were withdrawn from the village 
-of Concord to a hill on the other side of the river. The British scattered to 
find the concealed stores, and one party went over the north bridge and one 
over the south. As the party went over the north bridge, the provincial 
troops, if troops we could call them, were in plain sight, and therefore a part 
■of the regulars, about one hundred, were left to guard the bridge, while the 
rest, about the same number, went over. The Continentals saw the British at 
the bridge and could see the smoke that arose across the bridge. What 
should they do? see their houses burned and not go to the rescue of their 
wives and children.^ They consulted and agreed to march down to the bridge, 
but not a man was to fire until they had been fired upon. The British saw 
them coming and began to tear up the bridge. The Continentals hurried on 
and the British fired upon them, — at first one or two shots by which no harm 
was done; then more shots were fired; two men were wounded; a whole 
volley and two of the patriots were killed. ''Fire! fellow soldiers; for God's 
sake, fire!" cried Captain John Buttrick, leaping into the air and turning to 
his men. Thus began the American revolution. Two British were killed and 
several injured. Blood had been shed by men in armed rebellion, and the 
men who had done it were rebels and traitors. There could be no backward 
steps now, and the contest must wage till one or the other side should give 
in. This was the battle of Concord, and the first one of the war. 

The British retreated from the town as quickly as possible toward Lex- 



382 OUR NATION: 

ington and Boston. It had been a mild winter, followed by an early spring,, 
and the day was intensely hot. The provision train which was to supply 
them with food had been taken, and all they could get was what they might 
plunder from the citizens. Nor was this the worst, for the minute-men, without 
any orders from their officers, but each on his own account, lay in ambush 
behind trees and fences and stone walls, where they were safe, and kept up a 
harassing fire upon the retreating British to the very shelter of their ships. 
As the troops would pass by one place the patriots would go forward by by^ 
paths and fire upon them again from another position. When one party 
became worn out, fres-h recruits would come up from the. surrounding coun- 
try, and thus the war was kept up all along the distressing march back to 
Boston. The march was kept up in good order at first, but broke into an 
irregular rout at last. About two o'clock in the afternoon they were met 
by twelve hundred British troops, sent out from Boston to aid them with two 
pieces of artillery. But their position was perilous even after the arrival of 
these reinforcements. The colonists were increasing in numbers every mo- 
ment, and unless they moved rapidly the whole force would be cut off. The 
firing began again, and more and more of the patriots came up to aid the 
weary Continentals. They fought like men in thorough earnest, and although 
they were undisciplined and their methods were crude, they put the very 
flower of the English army to the worst, and it was not till seven o'clock at night 
that the regulars were safe under the protection of the guns of their ships. 

The British lost seventy-three killed, one hundred and seventy-two 
wounded, and twenty-six missing; while the Americans had forty-nine killed, 
thirty-six wounded and six missing. The British suffered heavily in the loss 
of officers. This was the opening contest that the British had forced upon 
their patient and loyal subjects in America, and which was to rage for seven 
years. We will now speak of some of the heroes whose names are conspicu- 
ous in this period of American history. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. 

The man who was fondly regarded as "the first in War, the first in 
Peace, and the first in the Hearts of his countrymen," could trace the line of 
his ancestry back nearly to the Norman conquest of England. He was born 
February 22nd, 1732, in Virginia, and was educated by his mother, who became 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 383 

a widow when her eldest son was eleven years of age. She early instilled into 
his mind a love of goodness and truth, which gave a color to all his after life, 
and to a great extent, moulded the destinies of America. Under her gentle 
yet firm control, George learned the great lessons of obedience and self- 
command, and i-n early life gave promise of the excellences which would ripen 
into a well-rounded manhood. He had his mother's love of command, and 
inherited her calm, judicial character of mind. Even among his schoolmates 
he became an arbitrator of their disputes and would not allow anything un- 
just or unfair. His person was large and powerful, and he delighted in 
athletic sports, and out-of-door pursuits. He had a bodily frame suited to a 
lofty soul, and could endure hardship, toil and fatigue, to almost any extent. 
His education was limited, and he learned no language but his mother tongue. 
He learned mathematics and land surveying, the keeping of accounts, and the 
framing of legal documents. This was the extent of his literary acquire- 
ments. 

But George Washington was precise and exact in everything he under- 
took. His copy books, and measurements of surveying when studying, were 
as neat and scrupulously kept, as if they were of great pecuniary value. At 
the age of eighteen, we find him serving as a government surveyor for the 
State of Virginia. Many of his returns are on file in the county court- 
house and are so very accurate that their evidence is taken in contested 
disputes to this day, where the measurement or boundary of land is involved. 
He was Adjutant General of one of the military districts of his native State 
before the Indian war, and as we have seen, led towards the Ohio valley a 
body of troops, when he was just past twenty-two years of age. He covered 
the retreat of the remnant of General Braddock's army, at the Battle of the 
Monongahela, and was a member of the first Continental Congress at Phila- 
delphia in 1774. He was for the years prior to the Revolution engaged in 
conducting the affairs of his private estate at Mount Vernon, Virginia, where 
he shipped his tobacco, kept his books and conducted his own correspond- 
ence. He raised a large quantity of wheat, and ground it at his own mill. 
It became renowned for its excellent quality; and such was his reputation for 
business integrity that no one thought of inspecting the barrel which bore his 
brand. He had the rare combination of a massive intellect, an iron will, and 
a gentle, loving heart. In him. was united a perfect equipoise of all the 
elements of manhood, and in a great degree did he combine the qualities of 
the Spartan Lycurgus, the Roman Cincinnatus, and the Greek Alexander. A 



384 OUR NATION: 

true patriot, a born leader, and a safe counselor in the army, in congress and 
at the head of government, he was the chosen instrument of Providence, 
raised up to meet the demand of the times in which he lived, and to earn the 
proud title which succeeding generations have given him, " The Father of his 
Country." 

History has assigned to Washington a high position among her noble 
names, and delights to point to him as a revolutionary leader against whom 
the least act of wrong has never been alleged. Such was the man around 
whose name crystallizes the noble deeds of the Revolution in America. The 
life of this man has been so interwoven into the history of the nation, as to 
form a large part of it. 

JOHN HANCOCK. 

This man was President of the Congress which adopted the resolution 
for the " Declaration of Independence," and his bold autograph stands at the 
head of the names which are signed to that immortal instrument. It is a 
bold defiance to the home government, and flaunted like the battle-flag of 
freedom, it stands at the head of the list of noted names, in its vigorous 
strength a type of the man whose courage and undaunted power of will 
moved the pen which afifixed it there in distinct characters for future gener- 
ations to read, as he said King George could do, " without spectacles." He 
was born at Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1737, and received a collegiate edu- 
cation at Harvard, after which he became a clerk to his uncle, and at the 
death of the latter inherited his great wealth. He was one of the most 
wealthy and the most popular of all the leaders during the Revolutionary 
struggle, in Massachusetts. He began his public career quite early in life, 
and was President of the first Provincial Congress which met, independent of 
royal authority, in Salem, Massachusetts, in October, 1774; also of the Conti- 
nental Congress of 1775 and 1776. 

On June loth, 1775, General Gage, commanding the British forces in 
Boston, issued his proclamation declaring the colonists rebels and traitors, 
but offering pardon to all who would give up their arms and take the oath of 
loyalt)^ to the king, excepting John Hancock and S-amuel Adams, whom he 
proposed to send to England to be hanged. 

Hancock was a staunch patriot, and did much throu^rhout the struggle to 
aid the army and supply provisions and equipments. He was Major General 



I 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 385 

of the Massachusetts miHtia, awd was sadly disappointed that he was not 
chosen Commander-in-Chief of the Continental forces. But for all this, he 
did not desert the Colonies, but gave his services and his money to his coun- 
try without stint, and was unswerving in his loyalty to the American cause. 

John Hancock was Governor of Massachusetts after the war, and died in 
1793, honored and respected by all. He was buried in the old Granary bury- 
ing-ground, in Boston, where lies the dust of many of Massachusetts' noble 
dead. 

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

When George Washington was passing his boyhood at Mount Vernon, 
there was a young man at Philadelphia who was modestly toiling to gain a 
livelihood. He was a printer, publisher, stationer, and kept a store for the 
sale of sundry articles. He became a thriving man, and by his simple habits, 
genial disposition, and pure character won the esteem of his fellow-citizens. 
More than this, he was a popular writer, and a studious gentleman, whose 
name would afterwards be sounded over the world as a great philosopher. 
He would demonstrate to the savans of Europe that electricity and lightning 
were the same, and give the scientific world a proof that there are investiga- 
tors and original thinkers among the rude people of the West. But he was 
more than this even, he was a patriot and statesman who would be an inval- 
uable assistant to the generals in the field. This man was Benjamin Franklin, 
the printer, the economist, the philosopher, the patriot and the statesman. 
He was born in Boston, January 17th, 1706, of humble parentage. He was 
apprenticed to his brother to the trade of a printer, but set out at the age of 
seventeen to seek his fortunes in Philadelphia, without money or friends. In 
1729 he established a newspaper, and began the publication of "Poor 
Richard's Almanac" in 1732. He established the free library of Philadel- 
phia. He was appointed Deputy Postmaster General of the American Colo- 
nies in 1753, a year after he had astonished the world with his scientific 
discoveries. In 1764 he was sent to England as a representative of the 
Colonies to protest before the Privy Counsel against the obnoxious Stamp 
Act ; and after being examined before a committee of the House of Commons, 
where he acquitted himself with remarkable ability, he returned home. He 
was chosen a member of the second Continental Congress in 1775, and the 
next year was a m.ember of the committee which framed the Declaration of 



386 OUR NATION: 

Independence. Franklin, very early in the contest, agitated the separation 
of the Colonies from England, and took a prominent part in all the councils 
of that eventful period. In 1776 he was sent as the first ambassador to the 
court of France, where the good sense and simple manners of the old printer 
gained the favor of the French. He assisted in effecting a treaty between 
the two governments, which was signed at Paris, February 6th, 1778. He 
lived to a ripe old age, assisted in frami'ng the Constitution, and was the in- 
strument of forming the treaty of peace with England in 1782. He died in 
1790 and was buried at Philadelphia. 



ISRAEL PUTNAM, 

The hero of Connecticut, who did much to arouse the patriotic zeal of 
his foster Colony, deserves more than a passing notice. He had taken an 
active and honorable part in the Indian and French wars, and was Major 
General of the Connecticut troops at the outbreak of the Revolution. In his 
wars with the Indians he had been taken prisoner, and at one time was 
bound to the stake to be tormented by having the savages toss their toma- 
hawks at him with such dexterity as not to cut him, but was rescued by an 
unexpected deliverance. He had once engaged with a wolf alone in a den, 
and by his coolness and bravery in many exploits had won the esteem and 
respect of his fellow-citizens. He was a true patriot, and a stern disciplina- 
rian. After the skirmishers at Lexington and Concord had stirred the peo- 
ple of Massachusetts to deeds of valor, the tidings came to Putnam as he 
was ploughing on his Connecticut farm. He unyoked his oxen, sent word to 
his family that he had started for Boston, mounted his horse and rode off to 
join the patriots in their noble defence. He was conspicuous for bravery at 
the battle of Bunker Hill, and rallied the militia who turned to run. Some 
years after this, he stood up in the church of which he was a member to 
answer to the sin of swearing on that occasion, and partially justified himself 
by saying that " it was almost enough to make an angel swear to see the 
cowards refuse to secure a victory so nearly won." 

Putnam was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in 171 8, and emigrated to 
eastern Connecticut in early life. He was conspicuous in all the exploits 
with the Indians of that period and was regarded as a brave and fearless man. 
In 1775, he was commissioned as a Major General of the Continental army. 
He was in command of the army in the Hudson Highlands, and superin- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 387 

tended the erection of fortifications at West Point on the Hudson. He died 
in 1790, at the age of seventy-two. 

PATRICK HENRY, THE ORATOR. 

This man, who was a perfect Boanerges (son of thunder) at the outset 
of the Revolution, was also a native of Virginia, where he was born in Han- 
over county, in 1736. It is said that he was stupid as a scholar, and indolent 
in his habits during his youth, and gave no promise of the great power he 
possessed as a thinker and orator. His remarkable eloquence first broke out 
when he was twenty-seven, and his reputation as an orator spread over his 
native State after this. He was the first Governor of Virginia elected by the 
people, and served in that ofifice for two terms. He was the first of all the 
public speakers of America to hurl down the gauntlet of defiance to the 
English. In the year 1765, he introduced into the house of Burgesses, of 
Virginia, of which he was a member, a series of resolutions highly tinctured 
with treason. They boldly maintained the doctrine that all the Colonies, and 
especially Virginia, alone had the right to impose taxes upon the people of 
that province, and they were not bound to obey any law in reference to taxa- 
tion which did not proceed from their own representatives. The last reso- 
lution declared that whoever dissented from the opinions set forth in the 
resolutions preceding, was an enemy to the colonies. 

Henry supported these resolutions with all the power of his matchless 
eloquence. In the midst of this memorable speech, when the impassioned 
orator had exclaimed, " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Crom- 
well, and George the Third — " " Treason ! Treason ! " cried a voice from 
the gallery — " may profit by their example. If that is ti'cason, make the most 
of it,"' finished Henry. 

Henry was a member of the first Continental Congress, as we have seen. 
The members sat silent in the assembly which gathered in Carpenter's Hall 
on that memorable day, the fifth of September, 1774. Not a voice broke the 
silence, and deep anxiety sat on every face. All at once a grave-looking man 
in a suit of minister's gray arose, and poured forth a torrent of eloquence in a 
sweet musical voice which stirred the hearts of all. " Who is he ? " was whis- 
pered from lip to lip. The few who knew him answered " Patrick Henry, of 
Virginia." There was no longer any hesitation in the Congress, and the 
deliberations of that body went on to the end. His eloquence was of a high 
character, and impassioned in its style. 



388 OUR NATION: 

In the Virginia House of Burgesses, on the 23d day of March, 1775, 
before the battle of Concord and Lexington, Henry again aroused the enthu- 
siasm of his fellow delegates in a patriotic speech, which has been published 
in nearly every school reader since that time, and ended with the sentence 
which became the rallying cry of the Revolution, " GIVE ME LIBERTY, OR 
GIVE ME DEATH." Twenty-six days after this. Governor Dunmore seized 
and conveyed on board the British man-of-war a quantity of gunpowder 
belonging to the Colony of Virginia. The enraged citizens compelled him to- 
leave his palace at Williamsburg, and flee for his life on board of the same 
vessel. In October of the same year, the deposed governor landed with reg- 
ular troops to punish the Colony and seize the town of Hampton, near Old 
Point Comfort. Patrick Henry at the head of the militia defeated him, and 
compelled him to pay for the gunpowder he had taken away the June before. 
His regiment carried one of the Earliest known American flags in this 
engagement, with the words " LIBERTY OR DEATH," and the picture of a 
coiled serpent under which were the words, " Dont tread on inc.'' 

The soldiers >vere clad in green hunting shirts, with the words " LIBERTY 
OR DEATH " printed across the bosom. They wore hats with long bucks*^ 
tails trailing behind, and a belt with tomahawks and scalping knives stuck in 
them, and made a formidable appearance as they marched through the prov- 
ince. We will find the mention of Patrick Henry as we proceed further in 
the history. 

SAMUEL ADAMS. 

This man was the true leader in the city of Boston during the excite- 
ment of the Stamp Act and the destruction of the tea. He was then a man 
of middle age, well educated and with a stainless reputation. He was a most 
powerful speaker and writer; — a man who gathered his adherents b}- his. 
eloquence, and held them by his wonderful power of persuasion and argu- 
ment. He was a type of the old Puritan family from which he was de- 
scended, having been born in Boston, in 1732. His fellow citizens felt the 
power of his resolute will, and gladly followed when he led the way for them. 
The English rightl)^ regarded him as a leader of the rebellion ; for when tliey 
sent a proclamation to New England offering general amnesty to all who 
would lay down their arms and return to their allegiance to the crown,. 
Samuel Adams and John Hancock were the only men who were exempt from, 
the provision of pardon. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 389 

The keen foresight of this man took in the situation at. a glance,, and saw 
from the first that there could be no halt for the Colonies until a complete 
separation from the old country was effected. His strength of argument and 
powerful eloquence in the General Court and before the people did much co 
mould the action and direct the thoughts of the patriots of this stormy time. 
There can be no doubt that he was the leader in more than one encounter of 
the people with the soldiers before the battle of Lexington, and he was 
responsible for the destruction of the tea in Boston harbor. He seemed 
eager to incite the Colony to open rebellion, and was delighted with the news 
of the conflict at Concord and Lexington. 

At the Assembly of the representatives of Massachusetts, in Salem, which 
sent out the invitation that resulted in the first General Congress, they pro- 
vided for a plan of union between the Colonies, raised munitions of war, and 
formed a league of non-intercourse w^ith England. General Gage sent his 
own secretary to dissolve the Assembly, but the door of the chamber was 
locked and Samuel Adams had the key in his pocket. He was one of the 
signers of the Declaration of Independence and, afterwards Governor of 
Massachusetts. He was a true man, a noble patriot, a born leader of the 
people, and in the hours which tried men's souls he was brave, undaunted 
and heroic. 

The unflinching advocate of liberty, he was among the first to pledge 
" his life, his fortune and his sacred honor," to the cause he loved, and his. 
countrymen loved to do him honor. He died in 1803. 

Thece are many other illustrious names of this period. General Warren, 
who fell at Bunker Hill, Henry Knox, the warm friend of Washington, Gen- 
eral Green and a host of noble men, heroes all of them ; but we must hasten 
on with our history, and let their heroic deeds speak their praise in more 
eloquent terms than words can proclaim. 

BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL AND SIEGE OF BOSTON. 

We will resume the line of history at the point where we left off: the- 
return of the discomfited British troops from their ill-fated expedition to 
Concord and Lexington. The initial blow for liberty had been struck, and it 
was appalling to friends and foes alike. The people were thoroughly aroused 
all over the land. General Gage had issued his proclamation, of which we 
have spoken. 



390 OUR NATION: 

Minute-men were gathering from all parts of the country, and the other 
Colonies heartily espoused the cause of their sister, Massachusetts. The min- 
istry of the crown had cut off the Colonies from protection, exempting New 
York, Delaware and North Carolina, but these Colonies had spurned the 
offer and united with the others in a common cause. The news spread like 
wild-fire that patriotic blood had been shed, and already American freedom 
•could boast of her martyrs. Mounted couriers were galloping in hot haste 
to other Colonies to carry the tidings of Lexington. " The war has begun ! " 
was shouted in market-place and by the press. And all true men saw that 
the time to lay aside the avocations of peace, and gird themselves for the 
contest, had arrived. In her great eagerness. North Carolina threw off her 
allegiance to the crown and formed military organizations. Georgia and 
South Carolina sent gifts of money and food with cheering letters to the 
patriots of the North. There was a general rush to arms in Virginia, under 
the arousing influence of the orator, Patrick Henry. From almost every 
town and hamlet of New England men were rushing to Boston. That city 
could be easily blockaded. A narrow strip of land joined the peninsula to the 
main land at Roxbury; called Boston Neck. Three thousand British soldiers 
were quickly hemmed within the city, and still General Gage did not move. 
The New England yeomanry were pouring into the camp of the blockaders, 
undisciplined and ununiformed. The regulars of the English army mocked 
them as " a rabble with calico frocks and fowling-pieces." But they were 
free Anglo-Saxons with arms in their hands and a strong purpose in their 
hearts. It was unwise to despise such men. 

A number of aggressive movements were undertaken by volunteers 
against forts and garrisons, which were successful from their very boldness 
and unexpectedness. Among the most important of these was the taking of 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point, on Lake Champlain, by the troops of Connec- 
ticut and Vermont. On the morning of the loth of May, 1775, Colonel 
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys appeared in the vicinity of Fort 
Ticonderoga. It seems that there were two independent expeditions igno- 
rant of the purpose of each other. The Colony of Massachusetts had given 
Benedict Arnold a commission as Colonel, and ordered him to raise a force 
of four hundred men to reduce the two forts. Connecticut lent eighteen 
hundred dollars to aid the enterprise, and ammunition was purchased which, 
as we shall see, was not expended for that purpose. The Connecticut men 
were first in the field, and went to Vermont and offered the command to 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 391 

Ethan Allen. He was a bold, rough man who had made himself conspicuous 
by his resistance to the royal governor of New York, who attempted to take 
possession of Vermont. While the troops were concentrating at the rendez- 
vous at Castleton, Arnold came up with his Massachusetts commission. He 
was allowed to join the army, but Allen was put in command. The first 
thing to be done was to obtain information of the condition of the fort. 
Captain Noah Phelps, of Connecticut, dressed as a farmer, went to the fort 
to get shaved, as he claimed he thought he could find a barber there. He 
obtained the information wanted and returned to the camp. 

On the evening of May 9th, the force of Green Mountain Boys were 
ready to embark in the only boat that could be procured ; but eighty-three 
men could cross at the same time. The two colonels went over in the first 
boat. When across the river, Allen could not wait for more men and under- 
took the capture of the fort at once. A young lad named Nathan Beman 
led them to the fort. The sentry was captured, and the little force of eighty- 
three men took possession of the fort without firing a shot. The officers 
were asleep in their quarters when a terrified soldier pointed out the door of 
the commanding officer. Colonel Allen cried out, " Come forth instantly or 
I will sacrifice the whole garrison ! " Captain Delaplace, the English com- 
mander, had no time to dress and came out of his room as he was. " Deliver 
this fort, instantly ! " said Allen. " By what authority?" asked the British 
captain. " In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," 
replied the patriot. So he was compelled to surrender his fortress before he 
had learned that the war had actually begun. At once the men were paraded 
without arms, and the Americans obtained two hundred cannons, and a large 
•stock of ammunition without a blow. Two days afterward, Colonel Seth 
Warner proceeded to capture Crown Point, which surrendered almost as 
■easily as Ticonderoga, and then an armed sloop was taken on the lake. This 
gave the patriots complete control of Lake Champlain, and was of immense 
advantage to the Colonists. 

Provincial Congresses had been held in many of the Colonies, and before 
the summer was gone every one had thrown off the authority of England. 

The second Continental Congress met at Philadelphia on the very day 
that Allen had taken Ticonderoga, and voted a very conciliatory and open- 
handed address to King George, but not to be too late, they at the same time 
took measures to organize the Continental army, appoint a commander and 
general officers, and raise money for the war. The Provincial Congress of 



392 OUR NATION: 

Massachusetts appointed a committee of safety, May 19, 1775, sitting at 
Cambridge, with full powers to regulate the army of the province. Artemas 
Ward was appointed Commander-in-chief. Israel Putnam, John Stark, and 
other heroes of the French war were appointed to important commands. 

On the 25th of May, six English men-of-war sailed into Boston Harbor, 
and it was rumored that reinforcements of troops, with generals Howe, Bur- 
goyne and Clinton, the best generals in the English army, were in these ves- 
sels. 

Gage now thought himself able to meet the undisciplined militia besieg- 
ing him around Boston, but the Colonists did not permit him to choose his 
time and place for the first engagement. On the Charleston peninsula there 
are two hills within easy gun-shot of Boston, namely, Bunker Hill and Breed's 
Hill. In a council of war it was decided to seize and fortify one of these 
hills and prepare for the onset of the English. The rumor came that Gage 
intended to occupy these hills, and fortify them on the morning of the eigh- 
teenth of June. Not a moment was to be lost; on the evening of the six- 
teenth a band of twelve hundred Americans under Colonel Prescott, accom- 
panied by General Putnam, were mustered on Cambridge Common for special 
duty. 

Prayers were said and they marched away in silence, not knowing where 
they were to go. The men only knew that they were marching possibly to 
battle, and some to death. They passed under the very guns of the British 
ships and reached the hillside undiscovered by their enemy. They ascended 
Breed's Hill. A lovely June night, warm and still, was upon them. Across 
the Charles river now slept the unsuspecting foe. Swiftly and carefully they 
labored to throw up a breastwork and build rifle pits on the hill. When the 
morning came Gage saw a long line of intrenchments and armed men behind 
them, where the day before the untrodden grass waved in the summer air. 
He looked through his field glass and saw the tall figure of Colonel Prescott. 
" Will he fight ? " asked the English general. " Yes, sir," said a bystander, 
" to the last drop of his blood! " 

A simple plan of attack was agreed upon. The Continentals could never 
sustain the shock of regular troops, so an attacking column was sent to march 
straight up the hill to make an assault on the works in front. 

Reinforcements were coming to the Americans; they were supplied with 
a gill of powder and fifteen balls each. To obtain even this small supply the 
balls were run from the organ-pipes of the Episcopal church at Cambridge. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 393 

At noon the English crossed the river, halted for rations, and the men from 
their earth-works could see and hear them. The bright uniforms and glisten- 
ing bayonets of their foes did not deter them from their noble purpose. From 
church steeple and house-top, from all the surrounding cities, there were 
eager spectators watching the event of battle. The well-trained soldiers of 
England had no easy task. They marched up the hill upon that hot sum- 
mer's day through the tall grass with their heavy knapsacks and equipments, 
weighing one hundred and twenty pounds per man. When they were more 
than a musket shot distant they fired a harmless volley at the patriots. 
"Aim low," shouted Putnam to his men, "and wait till you can see the 
whites of their eyes." Nearer and nearer the solid line of red-coats came up 
to the breastworks. At last the word is given to fire, and the American 
sharp-shooters made every shot tell with deadly effect. The English line 
recoiled. Once more they advanced to the very breastwork to receive a 
murderous fire from the patriots, and again sustain a bloody repulse. Now 
they throw off their knapsacks and great-coats, and come up again to the 
assault. They are resolute this time and will end the fight with the bayonet. 
The Americans have spent their little stock of ammunition and can give the 
red-doats only a single volley. They have no bayonets, and for a little time 
fight hand to hand with their clubbed muskets, but are soon driven out of 
their works and flee to Cambridge under the galling fire of the English ships. 
The English had doubtless won the day, but some things had been gained for 
the patriots ; it had been demonstrated that American freemen could contend 
with the disciplined soldiers in a fair stand-up fight. Henceforth the success 
of the Revolution was a foregone conclusion. George Washington, it is said, 
exclaimed when he heard of this battle, " Thank God ! the liberties of the 
country are safe." 

The loss of the English in this engagement was nearly eleven hundred, 
and of the Americans five hundred, yet as the English obtained the works 
they regarded it as a victory. The Americans who had up to this time taken 
up arms and fought the English troops, had done so without any form of 
authority, and no responsible body or legislature had recognized or employed 
them. They had no supplies of any kind. Their friends at home wove and 
spun to send them clothing and blankets, and the neighboring citizens fed 
them as best they could. 

The second Continental Congress appointed George Washington, of Vir- 
ginia, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on the 15th day of 



394 OUR NATION: 

June, 1775, and shortly after the battle of Bunker Hill,* adopted the incon- 
gruous assembly of men at Cambridge as " the Continental Army." Wash- 
ington hastened to join the army before Boston, and assumed command 
under a grand old elm at Cambridge. The condition of the army was a sad 
one. They were without much ammunition; only nine rounds for each man 
in the ranks. They could not use their artillery, ami their rude and irregular 
fortifications stretched for eight or nine miles. The provincials were not 
soldiers enough to know how weak they really were. Any moment the 
English might break their feeble lines and hurl them back in utter confusion. 

Washington saw the peril, but he was powerless. There was an army of 
ten thousand well-trained British soldiers in Boston. A noble body of men, 
but fortunately for the Americans they were led by incompetent generals. 
Gage quietly endured the seige without making a move. Small-pox broke 
out in his army and did fearful havoc. They were poorly supplied by the 
fleet, and had to destroy the very houses for fuel. 

Gage was recalled by an angry ministry, and quitted Boston in disgrace. 
General Howe was to succeed him. Washington was at times almost in 
despair. His men liad enlistetl for three months, and they found that a 
soldier's life was a hard one, that even their patriotism could not endure. 
The general was a strict disciplinarian and would be obeyed. When January, 
1776, arrived, he found himself with a new army much reduced in number, 
and he had to begin the weary process of drill and organization over again. 
He knew that 1 lowe was informetl of his condition, and he was constantl}' look- 
ing out for an attack. In hV'bruary, Congress sent him a liberal supply of 
arms and ammunition. Ten regiments of militia w'cre added to his little 
army and he began to feel that he could make a move. 

The heights of Dorchester lay to the south of Boston, and if he could 
secure and hokl this position he woukl be able to drive the British out of 
the city. He settled upon the night of the 4th of March for the undertaking 
of securing it. He kept the attention of the enemy by a constant discharge 
of artillery, while he sent a strong party of men to Dorchester to throw up 
a line of works. Huge wagons loaded with bales of pressed hay were driven 
there to form breastworks for the men, who could not dig rapidly in the 
frozen ground. The men worked with such energy that when morning came 
they had fashioned the bales of hay into redoubts and fortifications of quite 

*The troops were ordered to fortify Bunker's Ilill, but by mistake they fortified Breed's Hill. It 
was supposed to be Bunker's Hill until afterwards and so it is often erroneously ealled in history. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 395 

a formidable appearance. In the morning General Howe, peering with his. 
glass through the fog, saw the works and said, " The rebels have done more 
work in one night than my whole army would have done in a month." Howe 
prepared an expedition to cross to Dorchester and fight the patriots, but for 
two days a fearful easterly storm raged that scattered his transports, and on 
the third day he saw that the Americans had possession of the heights; then 
he knew that it was impossible to capture them. He laid aside his plans of 
battle and made preparations to evacuate the city. Washington might have 
taken them as prisoners of war, but he could not care for them, nor could the 
Colonies keep them until exchanged : so he gave a written promise that he 
would not hinder them in departing from the city. On the 17th of March 
not a British soldier was left in the city of Boston, and five thousand of the 
joyous Continentals entered it in triumph. Seven thousand soldiers, four 
thousand seamen, and fifteen hundred families of those who had been loyal to. 
the king, sailed for Halifax. 

General Israel Putnam, with a second detachment of troops, entered the 
city and took possession in the name of tJic Thirtcoi Colonies. 

Washington had learned that Sir Henry Clinton had sailed from Boston 
with his troops upon a secret expedition early in January, 1776, and he natur- 
ally supposed that the British general had gone to New York. Pie at once 
ordered one of his generals, Charles Lee, to go to Connecticut, raise troops 
for the defense of that city, and watch Clinton wherever he might attempt to 
land. Six weeks before the evacuation of Boston, Lee had twelve hundred 
troops in the vicinity of New York, and was on the watch for the British. 

But in the mean time the citizens of New York had committed overt acts 
of treason on their own account. They had seized the cannon at Fort George, 
and had driven the royal governor on board of an English ship. In March. 
Clinton arrived with his fleet and army just outside of Sandy Hook, and on 
the same day, Lee, not knowing where the English were, marched into the 
city and took possession. Clinton, foiled in this attempt to obtain New York, 
sailed to the southward. Washington had not heard from Lee or Clinton, 
and as soon as he could leave Boston he pressed on to aid Lee and find 
Clinton, also thinking that Howe w(nild sail to New York. He arrived about 
the middle of April, and began fortifying the city and the Hudson Highlands 
fifty miles above. General Charles Lee had been ordered south to assume 
command, and Lord Stirling, an American citizen of New York, who espoused 
the patriot cause, and was of Scotch descent, was left in command. Lee was . 



-396 OUR NATION: 

hastening toward the CaroHnas, arousing the Whigs, and on the lookout for 
the Enghsh General Clinton. 

Clinton had been joined at Cape Fear by an expedition sent out from 
England under Admiral Sir Peter Parker, and the combined fleet appeared 
off Charleston, South Carolina, on the 4th of June, 1776. The patriots in 
the South were aroused, and, led by Colonel Caswell, had defeated an army 
of loyalists over fifteen hundred strong, in February of that year. When Gov- 
ernor Rutledge called for volunteers they rallied from all over the State, and 
six thousand well-armed men appeared at Charleston to repel the invaders. 
A fort of palmetto logs and sand was erected on Sullivan's Island, and 
twenty-six cannon were mounted, and a garrison of five hundred men was 
stationed there under Colonel William Moultrie. The British made a com- 
bined attack by land and water upon this island, but were repelled after a 
persistent battle of ten hours. Colonel Thompson, with a small force in a 
battery, held the advancing land forces of Clinton at bay, while the fort 
poured its shot and shell into the fleet. At night the crippled and discom- 
forted fleet sailed away, and for two years the sound of British guns was not 
heard below the Potomac. The English fleet sailed for New York, June 31st, 
1776, and the victory of the patriots of South Carolina had an inspiring effect 
upon all the colonists throughout the country. 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

After these months of fighting there were those who could not come to 
think of separation from the home government but with pain. Those who 
were native Englishmen could not but love the land of their birth, and many 
were slow to abandon the proud title of British citizens. The Quakers and 
Moravians were opposed to war as sinful, and great numbers thought it was 
useless for a few weak colonies to measure strength against the power of 
Great Britain. There was long and anxious discussion. The land was flooded 
with pamphlets and papers setting forth the oppression of the home govern- 
ment and the grievances of the Colonies. The wisest and best minds of the 
age were agitating the question of a final rupture, because they saw that this 
was the only course. The vast weight of intelligence, learning and argument, 
as well as patriotism, was in favor of this. 

Among these, a man who wielded a powerful pen, and aided the cause 
with the full weight of his influence and talent, was one who has never re- 



I 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 397 

ceived the full amount of honor due him. He held a conspicuous place 
among the men of his time, and his judgment was considered of importance 
in the settlement of serious questions. We refer to Thomas Paine, an ear- 
nest thinker and writer. He had been but a few months in the Colonies, but 
his vigorous mind was enlisted on the side of human freedom. He wrote a 
pamphlet entitled Common Sense, in which he took the strong ground that 
the Colonies ought to be free. The Continental Congress was in session, and 
the time was ripe for a decision of this question. On June 7th, 1776, a reso- 
lution was introduced, " That the United Colonies are and ought to be free 
and independent." Some opposed, some favored. Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land had instructed their delegates to oppose it. The Quakers were loyal to 
the last. Seven States were for, and six against this resolution. It was then 
voted that the matter be deferred two or three weeks. 

On the 4th of July, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the 
thirteen States, by the unanimous consent of all the Colonies. It was a most 
remarkable document, setting forth the wrongs done to the Colonies, and 
portraying the character of George the King, in the roughest handling he 
ever received, and ending with these wonderful words, "and finally we do 
assert and declare these Colonies to be free and independent States, and that 
as free and independent States they have power to levy war. conclude peace, 
contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which 
independent States may of right do, and for the support of this declaration 
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred 
honor." To this immortal document, the names of all the members then 
present, were signed. 

The original draft of the Declaration of Independence, in the hand- 
writing of Thomas Jefferson, the youngest member of the committee, is pre- 
served. The Declaration was first published to the world with only the 
names of John Hancock and Charles Thompson, appended : but two other 
names were signed on the 2d of August. 

This act of the Congress inspired the patriots with enthusiasm. The 
Declaration was read by order of General Washington at the head of each 
regiment, and by the ministers in their pulpits and everywhere in posters and 
papers from Massachusetts to Georgia. The quarrel must now be fought 
out to the end, and result in a glorious victory for freedom, or in a shameful 
defeat, Every^vhere the Declaration was received with shouts of joy. 
The soldiers In New York pulled down a leaden statue of King George and 



398 OUR NATION: 

sent it to Litchfield, Connecticut, where the family of Oliver Wolcott melted' 
it and ran it into bullets to hurl at the king's soldiers. General Washington 
issued orders to his troops, in his customary dignified style, in which he said, 
" The General hopes and trusts that every of^cer and soldier will endeavor 
so to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights 
and liberties of his country," 

THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 

Just after the publication of the Declaration, General Howe, with Clin- 
ton and a large force of troops, made up largely of Hessians hired from 
some petty German Princes to fight the Americans, appeared off New York. 
These Hessians were hired at so much per head ; and their employment in that 
case to make war on British subjects, was a scandal to Europe. Frederick the 
Great did not hesitate to express his unmitigated contempt for both parties to 
the bargain. 

The British army was now composed of twenty-five thousand men, and 
General Howe had brought with him a commission to pacify the Colonies. 
They were now no longer Colonies, but free and independent States. So when 
General Howe invited them to lay down their arms, and promised them a 
free pardon, they replied that they were not seeking forgiveness but liberty. 

The sword must be the arbiter now. The British landed upon Staten 
Island, a few miles from New York. With his fleet Lord Howe could hold 
undisputed possession of the bay, and at his leisure choose his point of 
assault. General Putnam was sent with a body of troops to take and hold 
the heights of Brooklyn which commanded the city of New York. Staten 
Island could be seen from the heights and after a while the English were 
observed moving. They struck their tents, marched on ship board and 
crossed the bay near the Narrows. Putnam marched out of the works to 
meet the enemy, for Washington did not hope for a victory, only to do all 
he could to cripple the enemy. The English landed ten thousand men, in 
three divisions. The left division under General Grant, moved along the 
shore towards Gowanus. The right, under Clinton and Cornwallis, towards 
the interior, and the centre, composed of Hessians, under De Heister marched 
up the Flatbush road. The. right attacked the Americans, and others came 
to help what seemed the main attack, while the remaining column of British 
cut off their retreat, and the centre closed in upon them. The Americans. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 399, 

retreated to their intrenchments. Howe might have captured them, but he 
waited for the co-operation of the fleet and began a regular siege. Washing- 
ton perceiving the peril of the remnant of his forces at Brooklyn, silently 
withdrew them under cover of night, and in the concealment of a dense fog, 
they reached New York in safety. Early the next morning, before their 
flight was discovered, Washington retreated to Harlem Heights. The British 
followed ; fought him at White Plains and captured Fort Washington. The 
Americans crossed the Hudson closely pursued by the British. 

Lord Stirling had been defeated and taken prisoner; so also, had General 
Sullivan. It was indeed a dark time for the American cause. Scarcely four 
thousand men were left and they were dispirited at the defeats they had suf- 
fered. Thousands of their comrades had been killed, or, worse than death, 
were crowded in prisons and prison ships to die of neglect and starvation. 
This little army of men, without blankets or shoes, poorly armed and ill-fed, 
were a strange force to defend a continent. Washington was in full retreat 
to Philadelphia, and the British had possession of New York and Long Island. 
Again the British general issued his offers of pardon, and many of the rich 
colonists accepted them to preserve their property. The loyalists, who had 
been silenced by the popular uprising, now became clamorous and defiant. 
The terms of enlistment of the militia were expiring, and they were leaving 
the ranks, and the Continentals were deserting every day. Newark, New 
Brunswick and Princeton, were occupied by the British, and Washington 
reached the banks of the Delaware river with scarcely three thousand men. 
So near was the vanguard of the pursuing British, that their drums could be 
distinctly heard by the rear guard of the Continental army. And often the 
men engaged in destroying bridges behind the Americans would see the head 
of the column of the enemy before they had completed their work of destruc- 
tion. Washington knew the desperate odds against him. He had not hoped 
to overcome the British in the Eastern States then, but he resolvd to do what 
he could with such an army as his country had given him. The British 
waited in New Jersey until the river should freeze and they be able to pass 
over. Washington strove to devise a plan by which he should win back suc- 
cess to his cause. 

The defeats which had followed each other so rapidly for four months 
had caused the people to become uneasy and dispirited. The short terms of 
enlistment had been embarrassing to the army, and the increasing activity of 
the tories, as the loyalist colonists were called, all had a disastrous effect. 



400 OUR NATION: 

The winter of the second year of the war had come, and the British 
'general was inactive; his officers and men were enjoying themselves in New 
York, and small detachments were scattered throughout New Jersey, Thirty 
miles from Philadelphia was the city of Trenton, held by a considerable force 
of British and Hessians. Washington crossed the Delaware Christmas night, 
1776, in a storm, and made a hurried march to Trenton to surprise the care- 
less army there. He succeeded. The general in command was slain, and the 
troops surrendered at discretion, A week after this encounter, three regi- 
ments of British troops came to Princeton, on their way to retrieve the defeat 
of their companions. While they were resting for the night, Washington 
surprised them at dawn on Jan 3, (1777), and after a sharp fight defeated 
them with heavy loss. These successes, slight as they seem, revived the 
drooping spirits of the patriots and restored the wavering confidence in 
Washington, which after this was unbounded. Congress gave him unlimited 
military authority for six months. They also decided that all enlistments 
thereafter should be for the war. Thus in the time of its deepest peril the 
infant Republic was rescued from its danger by the timely victories of Tren- 
ton and Princeton. 

Thus opened the third year of the struggle with victory and enthusiasm 
for their Commander-in-Chief, and soon the hearts of the colonists were to 
be cheered by the arrival of a new ally to freedom, and a source of strength 
that would be of great aid to them in their contest for liberty and independ- 
ence, 

THE FRENCH AID TO THE COLONIES, 

A NEW force was now to enter into this, which had been up to this time 
an unequal contest, France had long cherished a bitterness toward England 
for the loss of her possessions in Canada, caused by the defeat at Quebec, 
She had fondly hoped that America would avenge her for this loss by throw- 
ing off the British yoke. She had more than once despatched to the Colonies 
a secret agent to ascertain their temper; and since the troubles with the 
mother country had begun, her secret emissaries had been at work among 
them to offer sympathy and give pledges of commercial advantage. It was 
safe for her to foster the growing dislike of England in America, and to stir 
up the Americans to fit out privateers to prey upon British commerce. But 
there was one young man at this time serving in the French army, whose 
professions of friendship for America were not all flattery and inspired by 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 401 

hatred of the British. This man was a young French nobleman of large for- 
tune and strong love of liberty. He was less than twenty years of age, and 
had first heard of the American struggle from the Duke of Gloucester, while 
he was dining with some French ofificers. That conversation made a radical 
change in the young man's plans for the future. He had the keenest sym- 
pathy with the cause of liberty in which he believed the American States to 
be engaged, and no sooner had he become satisfied of this than he was ready 
to ally himself with the patriot army. He had just been married to a beauti- 
ful lady whom he left in France, and came to America in a ship fitted out at 
his own expense. He offered his services to the Continental Congress in the 
third year of the war, when the cause seemed to be at its lowest ebb. His 
presence with other foreign officers stimulated the hopes of the whole 
nation, for it was a visible proof that there was help and sympathy for them 
beyond the ocean. 

America has given this impulsive, generous young man a high place in her 
affection. The Continental Congress gave the zealous French youth a com- 
mission as Major General (July 31st, 1777), and three days afterwards he was 
presented to General Washington at a public dinner. Here on August 3rd, 
two men met for the first time whose names were forever after blended in 
grateful remembrance by a patriotic people, who regard them as deserving 
the highest love of the nation. George Washington, the plain Virginia 
planter, and the Marquis de Lafayette, the wealthy French nobleman, who 
had espoused the cause of the feeble Colonies with all his heart. Together 
these men were to play a grand and noble part in the Drama of Nations, and 
like brothers were to stand side by side through the darkest days of gloom 
until victory should crown their united efforts and a free people should sound 
their praises from the lakes to the gulf and from sea to sea. The Americans 
have delighted to do honor to the first and most faithful ally to their cause. 

THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777 AND 1778. 

We left Washington after his victory at Princeton, in January, 1777, which 
caused returning enthusiasm of the patriots. He was too weak to attempt 
the capture of the large amount of British stores at New Brunswick, and 
therefore he hurriedly retreated to Morristown, where he established winter- 
quarters. He kept up his plan of harassing the enemy until, at the opening 
of spring, scarcely a British or Hessian soldier was left in New Jersey except 



402 OUR NATION: 

at New Brunswick and Amboy. No general movement was made by either 
army until the first of June, and Washington remained in his winter-quarters 
till the last of May. His army was improving in health and numbers, in dis- 
cipline, spirits and material. A few slight movements had been made in the 
spring. The British had made an expedition up the Hudson and destroyed 
some stores, returning the same night. They had also marched from the 
Sound to Danbury, Connecticut, destroyed the town, and fought the militia 
under General Wooster, Silliman and Arnold. The first had been killed, the 
second barely escaped, but Silliman had discomfited and harassed them all 
the way to the coast and inflicted severe injuries upon them while getting on 
board of their ships at Compo, near Westport, Connecticut. 

May 22nd, Colonel Meigs had crossed the Sound from Guilford, Connec- 
ticut, attacked the British garrison at Sag Harbor, Long Island, burned a 
dozen vessels, destroyed stores, and returned the next day with ninety pris- 
oners. A similar exploit was performed in Rhode Island. A party in whale 
boats rowed across Narraganset bay amid the hostile ships and captured the 
British General Prescott in his bed (July loth), and he was sent under a 
strong guard to Washington. Colonel Barton led this expedition, and after- 
ward received a fine sivord, as a testimonial of his bravery, from Congress. 

Thus the campaign was opening. Congress urged Washington to lose 
no time in attacking the enemy; but he could safely wait and bide his time, 
■smiling at the vain confidence which had so quickly taken the place of dis- 
trusts and almost of despair. His army was being recruited every day, and 
the old soldiers whose time had expired were induced to remain by patriotic 
appeals and the promise of bounty. By the middle of June there were eight 
thousand men in the Continental army, tolerably well armed and clothed, 
and under a state of fair discipline. 

The Hessians had committed many depredations in New Jersey, and a 
strong thirst to avenge private wrongs induced many of the wavering citizens 
of that State to enter the service. Howe desired to capture the capital of the 
Confederation, Philadelphia, and advanced his army to do so, but Washington 
Avas so strongly intrenched across his way that he dared not attempt it. He 
prepared an expedition to sail to the Chesapeake, leaving New Jersey in 
complete possession of the Americans. 

At the middle of July, General Burgoyne, with a force of seven thousand 
men, had taken Crown Point and Ticonderoga from the Americans, and 
spread terror through Northern New York and Vermont. Sir Henry Clinton 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 403 

was left in command at the city of New York. The British forces under 
General Howe landed at Elkton, Maryland, on August 25th, and marched 
toward Philadelphia ; and at Brandywine Creek a severe battle was fought 
with the Americans, September nth, in which Lafayette was wounded, just 
forty days after his introduction to Washington. The patriots were defeated 
with an estimated loss of twelve hundred men. The generals of that time 
were disposed to blame General Sullivan, who commanded the right wing, 
for this defeat, because of alleged lack of vigilance. Washington had lost 
the battle, but not by any want of skill or bravery. 

The British army was warmly received by the Tories of Philadelphia, 
and by demoralizing indulgence there during an entire winter it became so 
weakened that Dr. Franklin said " Sir William Howe has not taken Philadel- 
phia, but Philadelphia has taken Sir William Howe." 

The Federal Congress had fled at General Howe's approach, and when, a 
bright September morning, the British troops marched into Philadelphia, 
there were many citizens eager to receive them with open arms. The British 
were in possession of the long-desired prize, the Federal Capital, but they 
could obtain no supplies by sea, on account of two forts on opposite sides of 
the Delaware River, a few miles below the city. On the morning of October 
22nd these forts were attacked by a large force of British under Howe. Fort 
Mercer was bravely held by Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Greene of Rhode 
Island, and Fort Mififin by Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Smith, who both 
made a gallant defense and drove the British away. The forts were after- 
ward abandoned and the English had possession of the river to the sea. 
While the British were weakened by the large detachment which had gone 
down the Delaware, Washington decided to attack the main force of the 
enemy at Germantown, and a complete surprise was given them, which at 
first was successful. But in the obscurity of a fog, confusion arose among 
the regiments of the Continental army, and some of them mistook each other 
for enemies. The confusion increased to a wild panic and they fled in disas- 
ter. 

We must leave Washington preparing to go into winter-quarters, and turn 
northward to see about the army of Burgoyne which we left in p6ssession of 
Ticonderoga and Crown Point. This English general had set out on an expedi- 
tion from Canada to subdue the northern part of New York. General Schuyler 
was in command of the Northern Department, but he had only a small force, 
chiefly of militia. These men were of different temper and spirit from the 



404 OUR NATION: 

citizens of Philadelphia and vicinity, and when they heard of the invasion 
they assembled from all over the country. Each man took down his musket 
from where he had hung it, and hurried away to join the army. They were 
undisciplined but resolute of purpose. The invader made slow progress until 
he found himself at Saratoga. A force had been sent to Bennington, Ver- 
mont, to seize cattle and provisions which were gathered there. Colonel 
John Stark had been commissioned to raise troops in New Hampshire, and 
with his men defeated one party of the British, while Colonel Seth Warner 
met and overcame another, August i6th. Burgoyne was in difficulty; he 
had been impeded by the efforts of Schuyler in his march, was in an enemy's 
country without supplies, and found but little help from the Tories. It was 
now October and the heavy fall rains made the roads impassable. Provisions 
were getting low and hard to procure. 

The Indians had been aroused in the Mohawk Valley and joined the 
British. They invested Fort Stanwix with a band of tories under Johnson 
and Butler, and had led General Herkimer with his militia into an ambush, 
at Iriskany, and defeated them, mortally wounding the General. But the 
besieged party under the command of Colonel Willet made a successful 
sortie and broke the seige. Arnold came up with a body of troops to relieve 
the garrison, and the Indians and their Tory friends fled in confusion. 

The British general had little hope of fulfilling his promise to eat his 
Christmas dinner in Albany. He could not remain where he was; to retreat 
or to advance would be equally disastrous. He crossed the Hudson and 
fortified a camp on the hills of Saratoga. The American army was nine miles 
distant, at Stillwater. An indecisive battle was fought on the 19th of Sep- 
tember, on Bemis's Heights, both sides claiming the victory. The British 
fell back to their camp. Here Burgoyne resolved to wait for reinforcements 
from General Clinton, but after a few days, not hearing from Clinton, he 
prepared another attack upon the Americans. He was completely defeated 
October 7th, 1777. His army had become enfeebled by frequent desertions 
of the Tories and Indians, while that of the patriots was being strengthened 
by the militia which flocked to them, and the Indian warriors of the Six 
Nations who joined them. Ten days after his defeat, when he had only three 
days' rations in camp, he surrendered his whole force to General Gates. Six 
thousand men laid down their arms. Well drilled, armed and clothed, the 
English surrendered to patriots who were mostly ununiformed and fought 
with powder-horns slung from their shoulders, and with muskets many of 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 405 

which had no bayonets. Such humihation had never befallen the British 
army before. But this American army behaved with noble spirit toward the 
conquered. General Gates kept his men within their lines that they might not 
see the vanquished lay down their arms. Not a word or look of disrespect 
was given the enemy. "All were mute in astonishment and pity." The posts 
on Lake Champlain now fell into the hands of the patriots. The Americans 
had gained a large amount of small arms, cannon, and munitions of war. 

England took this defeat very much to heart, and now too late, they 
resolved to redress the wrongs of the Colonies. The patriots were encour- 
aged, the Tories were put down, and France was urged to espouse the cause 
of America. Parliament abandoned all claim to tax the Colonies, declared 
that every obnoxious law would be repealed, and that all would be forgiven 
if America would return to her allegiance. Commissioners were hurried 
away to bear the olive branch of peace to Congress. But the time for peace 
with England, as Colonies, had passed forever. In a few well-chosen words 
Congress declined the offer, and the war went on. America had chosen to 
be free, and proud England, whose armies had been victorious all over the 
world, could not tamely abandon her claim and retire defeated before the 
feeble Colonies. 

The war so far had cost the English twenty thousand lives and increased 
the national debt to an alarming extent. Her ablest generals had been de- 
feated by half-clad and half-armed yeomen. Trade was languishing, and 
there was dissatisfaction among the laboring classes. Commerce was crippled 
by American privateers, which attacked English merchantmen, and for all 
this loss what had been gained ? Actually nothing but the satisfaction of 
having inflicted untold misery upon an industrious and frugal people, carry- 
ing sorrow and suffering to thousands of happy homes in America. They 
had caused men to leave their peaceful associations, their fields unsown and 
their shops silent. The trading classes had been impoverished, the fisheries 
and commerce well nigh annihilated, and solid money had disappeared from 
the country. That was all that England had gained ; for the Americans 
were still determined to achieve their independence. 

On February 6th, 1778, a treaty of alliance between the United States 
and France was signed, and now the Americans were not left to fight the 
powerful British nation single handed. Spain also joined with France, and 
from this union the cause of American independence seemed to be secured. 

Washington had gone into winter-quarters with his troops, at Valley 



4o6 OUR NATION: 

Forcre, where his poorly-clad and ill-fed army shivered in their log cabins, 
while the army of Howe were passing their time in luxury and ease within 
the comfortable homes of Philadelphia. If there is a spot on the broad 
Western Continent where a monument ought to be erected to perpetuate the 
memories of the Revolutionary struggle, it is at Valley Forge. Here Wash- 
ington held his army together without sufficient clothing or camp equipage, 
and but little provisions, through the long, dark period of that terrible winter 
of 1777-78. The general shared with his men the privation and suffering of 
the winter, and neither lost hope in the justness of the cause, nor the final 
issue. And when the fearful ordeal had passed, and the troops received the 
news of the treaty with France in the early spring, shouts and cheers shook 
the air and were heard for miles around. 

This alliance with France gave the Americans great hope and added to 
their zeal. Nor was this all, for the French government began active meas- 
ures of aid at once. A fleet of twelve ships of the line was despatched to 
American waters to co-operate with General Washington, under the com. 
mand of Count D'Estaing. The British Ministry ordered General Howe to 
leave Philadelphia and concentrate his forces in New York. Nor did the 
British leave that city any too soon, for the French fleet appeared in the 
Delaware early in July. Lord Howe had sailed to Raritan Bay, off the New 
Jersey coast into which the larger French ships could not enter. The British 
army at Philadelphia had started across New Jersey for Sandy Hook, under 
Sir Henry Clinton, pursued by Washington. He overtook them in Mon- 
mouth County, and fought a severe battle with them on Sunday, June 28, 
1778. During that night the British army stole away, and were far on their 
way toward Sandy Hook the next morning. Washington did not follow, but 
marched to New Brunswick. 

Washington urged D'Estaing to proceed to Rhode Island and assist in 
driving the British out of that province. General Sullivan was sent to take 
command of the troops there. John Hancock came with the Massachusetts 
militia. Several English ships reinforced the fleet at New York and appeared 
off Rhode Island the day the Americans landed. The French fleet came out 
to cngaee the English, but a storm disabled both fleets and the PVenchmen 
sailed for Boston to repair, leaving the land force to meet the British unaided. 
The Americans retreated to the north end of the Island, where General Sul- 
livan defeated the British at Quaker Hill, August 29th, and then to avoid 
being cut off by Howe retired to the main land the next day. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 407 

THE WYOMING MASSACRE. 

We come to a chapter in the American conflict which has no parallel in 
the scenes of carnage and cruelty that stain the pages of history, a tragedy 
that found no apologists in the nation in whose interests it was enacted. 
There were in all the provinces numbers of persons w4io still sympathized 
with the British. Some were born in England and loved the land of their 
birth better than the young Republic of the West ; some were shocked by 
the fratricidal war and dreaded its consequences; some were conscientious 
loyalists who thought the patriots were guilty of treason ; some were rene- 
gades who had private grievances to settle, and some were bribed by offers 
of British possessions and gold. All of them, from the peaceful Quaker and 
Moravian who would rather suffer than fight, to the lawless assassin who 
would kill for pay, were termed Tories. We have spoken of two, Johnson 
and Butler. The latter, Colonel John Butler, was in command of a body of 
Tories from Niagara, and he came southward inciting the Indians to arise 
against the settlers. They gathered at Tioga early in June, 1778, and by the 
1st of July mustered eleven hundred white men and Indians, the latter from 
the head waters of the Susquehanna. They entered the beautiful Wyoming 
Valley on the 2nd of July. This was a part of the State of Pennsylvania. 
The strong men were mostly in the distant army on duty; the aged men with 
the women and children and a very few trained soldiers were all that were 
left in this defenceless valley. Colonel Zebulon Butler, a native of Connec- 
ticut, who had been in the early Indian and French wars, with a small force 
of four hundred men marched up the valley to drive the Tory, Butler, and his 
Indians back. They were met by the savage foe and after a fearful conflict 
were most of them killed or taken prisoners, July 4th, 1778. A few of them 
made their escape to Forty Fort, where the families of the settlers were 
gathered for shelter and defence. The invaders swept like a storm down the 
valley and surrounded the fort, where, contrary to expectation, they offered 
humane terms of surrender. The families returned to their homes in fancied 
security, but the Indians could not be held in restraint, and plundered and 
burned, slaughtered and butchered on every hand. They scattered in every 
direction at sunset, and when the darkness of night settled upon the scene 
twenty burning houses sent up their lurid flames to the sky. The cry of 
women and children went up from every field and house, and many who fled 
to the Wilkesbarre mountains and the black morasses of the Pocono, perished 



4o8 OUR NATION: 

from exposure and starvation. That dark region between the valley and the 
Delaware is very appropriately termed the Shades of Death. Thus was en- 
acted the most shameful crime committed among the many that disgraced 
the action of the English during the war. Joseph Brant, a Mohawk chief, 
who had adhered to the English, had gone with war parties south of the 
Mohawk River, and joined, with their allies, the Tory leader Walter Butler, 
and together they attacked the settlement of Cherry Valley, killed man}' of 
the people, and carried many of them into captivity. Such was the alarm in 
all that region that for months no eye was closed in security. The country 
for a hundred miles around was called the dark and bloody ground. The 
record of that one county in New York, — Tryon County, it was then called, 
— for four years, would *fill a large volume. To such severe straits had the 
British government come in their contest with a united people fighting for 
their freedom. The Americans had a great account to settle with the Tories, 
who had already been the cause of much bloodshed and miser)', and were 
always a source of strength and information to the British. 

THE WAR IN 1 779- 1 780. 

The Continental army had gained much in the former campaign although 
the spring of 1779 opened with the forces in the same relative position as the 
spring before. But the American army was in better condition and material 
than ever previous. France was in active sympathy with the States, and the 
latter were learning how to conduct naval operations and the art of civil 
government. The power of the British in the States north of the Potomac 
was becoming weak and the field of conflict was to be changed to the sparsely 
settled South. The French fleet had sailed to the West Indies to attack the 
English possessions there, and this drew away a part of the British force with 
some of their ships. Altogether the conditions of the conflict were bright for 
the side of America. The chief embarrassment was the fact that a large 
issue of bills of credit of the government was rapidly depreciating in value. 
This Continental currency had neither the binding force of a promise to pay 
in gold or silver, nor the pledge of public credit. 

In the spring of 1779, Washington, in conference with a committee of 
Congress, matured a plan of campaign for the year. He was to act on the 
defensive so far as the British were concerned, and on the offensive in dealing 
with the Indians and Tories. The British troops were to be confined to the 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 409 

sea coast and the Indians and their allies were to be severely punished where- 
ever a blow could be struck. The British had already sailed to the South 
and subjugated most of the State of Georgia, making their head-quarters at 
Savannah, which they held until nearly the close of the war, even after the 
rest of the State had been recovered. The patriots of Georgia and South 
Carolina contended with the invaders bravely and punished them at many 
points, but were overcome by superior numbers. They were kept out of 
Charleston and obliged to retire to Georgia, when Gener^.l Prevost came up 
from Florida to join the British and assume command of the forces. 

In the North the British were sending out marauding parties to harass 
the citizens along the sea coast. Such an expedition under General Tryon 
came to Greenwich, Connecticut, to attack General Putnam. The Americans 
were dispersed but rallied at Stamford and drove the invaders back, recap- 
tured a part of their plunder, and harassed them all the way back to New 
York. An expedition under command of Sir George Collier sailed from 
Hampton Roads into the Elizabeth River, and laid the country waste on 
both sides from the Roads to Norfolk and Portsmouth. The last part of the 
same month two forts on the Hudson were captured by the same fleet, Stony 
Point and Verplanck's Point. These exploits ended. General Tryon went to 
New Haven, Connecticut, and burned that city, also East Haven, Fairfield 
and Norwalk, and boasted of his extreme clemency in leaving a single house 
standing on the coast. The Americans were not idle all this time, but were 
making ready to strike heavy and unexpected blows at different points. 
Three days after the burning of Norwalk the Fort at Stony Point was cap- 
tured by General Anthony Wayne, who secretly attacked it on the night of 
July 15th, 1779, with ball and bayonet, and captured it after a strong resist- 
ance. This was one of the most brilliant exploits of the war. Another bril- 
liant achievement followed this, the capture of a British force at Jersey City 
by Major Henry Lee, August 19th ; but the joy which these events occasioned 
Vv^as changed to sorrow by disaster in the extreme East. Massachusetts fitted 
out an expedition of forty vessels to sail to the Penobscot and take a fort 
held by the British at Castine. The commander delayed to storm the place 
for two weeks after his arrival, and a British fleet appeared, destroyed the 
vessels and captured the sailors and soldiers, all but a few who made their 
way back to Boston through the trackless wilderness. 

The settlers of the territories beyond the Alleghanies, who had been 
accustomed to fight the Indians from their first coming into the wilderness, 



4IO OUR NATION: 

were fearless and bold, and now they turned their attention to the British 
outposts to fight the white soldiers. Colonel George Rogers Clarke (who 
finally broke the power of the Indians who were incited by the Tories and 
English) led an expedition into the far wilderness of the Northwest Territory, 
where Illinois and Indiana now are, and took the fort at Kaskaskia, and the 
strong post at Vincennes. This had happened in 1778. But the British 
from Detroit retook the post in January, 1779. Acting as a peace-maker, 
Clarke again penetrated a hundred miles beyond the Ohio River, to quiet the 
Indians in the Northwest. He went through the " drowned lands " of Illinois 
in the month of February, and then came upon the fort at Vincennes like 
men who had dropped from the clouds. On the 20th of Februar}-, the stars 
and stripes floated once more over the fort. 

The indignation of the people was thoroughly aroused by the massacre 
at Wyoming, and General Sullivan was sent to the very heart of the region 
held by the Six Nations to chastise and humble them. On the last day of 
July he marched up the Susquehanna and joined the forces of General James 
Clinton, a patriot soldier, in August, making an army of nearly five thousand 
men. On the 29th of August they fell upon a fortified band of Indians and 
Tories and dispersed them. Without waiting for them to rally, Sullivan went 
on dealing severe blows and chastising the savages on every hand. The 
Indians were awed and spirit-broken, for a while. 

The campaign in the South had closed with the unsuccessful attempt of 
the Americans to capture Savannah. The French fleet was withdrawn, and 
General Lincoln was in full retreat towards Charleston. Thus closed the 
campaign for 1779 with discouragement for the Americans, as nothing of 
great importance had been accomplished in the South. In the North the 
British were driven out of Rhode Island by the fear of a French fleet. 
Lafayette had gone to France and induced the government to send a larger 
fleet and six thousand troops to America. Sir Henry Clinton sailed for 
South Carolina in December, 1779, and Washington went to winter quarters. 

While at best there was no perceptible gain on the land, the American 
sailors were achieving wonderful success from their bravery and audacity. 
John Paul Jones had dared to attack the strongest ships in the British navy, 
and had followed them into the very chops of the British channel. The 
Scrapis and the Coitntcss of ScarhorougJi had struck their colors to the Boii- 
honimc Richard, the ship commanded by Jones, and he had taken in all, 
during the year, prizes to the amount of two hundred thousand dollars. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 411 

The British had gained nothing in America, and had a great weight of trouble 
in other parts of the world. Spain had declared war with England, and the 
hands of the English were full. 

The campaign of 1780 in the South was a source of disasters to the 
Americans, resulting in the loss of Charleston, the whole State of South 
Carolina, the destruction of two armies, and the scattering of a good band of 
independent rangers. General Lincoln and his army surrendered at Charles- 
ton after a gallant defense of forty days. Thus the British took at one time 
between five and six thousand men, and four hundred pieces of artillery. 

Colonel Tarleton, a name which is held in contempt by all honest men, 
and which appears on the pages of history as the synonym of the meanest 
treachery, surrounded a band of patriots, who were retreating from Charles- 
ton toward North Carolina, with a force twice the size of the Americans, 
and almost annihilated them, killing men after they had surrendered and 
while they asked for quarter. It was a cold-blooded massacre, which was 
denounced by the liberal press of England in the most scathing terms. 

General Gates and Baron DeKalb were defeated at Sander's Creek near 
Camden, after a sanguinary encounter, and the Baron was slain. The flower 
of the American army was now destroyed, and the hearts of the patriots 
were troubled with anxiety. 

General Gates had ordered General Sumter to command a detachment 
to intercept a detachment of British and take their supplies. But Avhen he 
heard of the defeat of General Gates, Sumter fortified his camp at the mouth 
of the Fishing Creek. Colonel Tarleton fell upon him and scattered his 
band. Sumter escaped, but his power was broken. 

But while these misfortunes were spreading a pall of darkness over the 
American cause, a man hitherto very little known was waging a warfare on 
his own account upon the Tories; and hanging upon the flanks of the British 
army, and dealing heavy blows to injure and cripple them. He was Francis 
Marion, a partisan leader of South Carolina, who had collected a band of 
Southern patriots after the fall of Charleston. He had been with the army 
in that city, but at the time of the surrender was at home with a wound, so 
he was not hampered by any parole. He came to General Gates just before 
the disastrous battle near Camden with a few ragged fellows, more grotesque 
than the soldiers of Falstaff. The general was inclined to ridicule them, but 
Governor Rutledge, who was present, knew the sterling qualities of the man, 
and made him a brigadier on the spot. The people of Williamsburg arose 



412 OUR NATION: 

in arms and sent for him to command them. He went and organized his won- 
derful brigade, which defied the British power after the disaster at Camden. 

Cornwalhs organized the State of South CaroHna as a royal province, 
himself as military governor, but he was so merciless, vindictive and selfish 
that even those who were friendly to the British fell away from him. On the 
7th of October a band of patriots fell upon a British and Tory force under 
Colonel Ferguson, at Kings Mountain, two miles below the North Carolina 
line, and defeated them. This gave the republicans renewed hope. On the 
seaboard Marion's men were doing wonders in driving back the British and 
redeeming the country. Cornwalhs fell back to Winnsborough and fortified. 
Here he remained until he went in pursuit of Greene a few weeks later. 

Victory after victory crowned the efforts of Marion and his men, but he 
had confined his operations thus far to forays upon the enemy. Now he con- 
cluded to try strength in an open assault upon the British post at George- 
town. The partisan warrior was repulsed but not disheartened. He had a 
camp on Snow's Island in the Pedee country, and would sally forth so sud- 
denly and attack the British unawares at so many and widely separated 
points in such a marvellously short time, that they became thoroughly 
alarmed, and determined to break up his rendezvous. This was not accom- 
plished until the spring of 1781, when a band of Tories led the way to his 
camp in the swamp, while he was away, took the few men whom Marion had 
left there and destroyed his supplies. The hero, when he returned, was 
surprised, but not disheartened, and at once started in pursuit of the 
marauders. After following them, he suddenly turned and confronted the 
British colonel, Watson, who came up with fresh troops. 

But now we will turn to the North for a little while. In June, 1780, 
Clinton had made an incursion into New Jersey, burned Elizabeth and Con- 
necticut Farms, and had been driven back to Staten Island after a severe 
defeat at Springfield, on the 23rd. A French army under Count de Rocham.- 
beau had landed on Rhode Island with six thousand land troops, on July 10, 
1780. Lafayette had arranged the whole affair during his visit in France; 
and to prevent any conflict of authority, as in the case of D'Estaing, the 
French had commissioned Washington a Lieutenant General in their army. 
Rochambeau first met Washington at Hartford, and many of the French 
soldiers were sent to encamp at Lebanon, Connecticut, as the season had too 
far advanced for them to be of service in the campaign. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 413 

THE FIRST AND ONLY TRAITOR. 

Now we come to a sad chapter with which to wind up the record of 
the year 1780. At different times during the war the British officers had 
attempted, directly or indirectly, to tamper with Americans of high rank 
whom they thought were of easy virtue, but not till the very last of the war 
had they found a single one to listen to their advances. Now they ap- 
proached one whose personal ambition had led him to aspire to supersede 
liis commander-in-chief, but he had failed in the attempt. Benedict Arnold, 
of Connecticut, the arch-traitor and the man whose name will go down to 
posterity covered with execration, was a brave man, but thoroughly bad. He 
had fought nobly at the outbreak of the war, as we have seen, and held a 
high command in the Continental army. He was impulsive, vindictive and 
unscrupulous ; always in some sort of a quarrel with his fellow-officers, and 
unpopular with his command. When he was appointed to the command of 
Philadelphia, after being wounded at Bemis' Heights, he married the daughter 
of a prominent tory, and lived in splendor far beyond his means. To meet 
the exactions of his creditors, he resorted to a great many fraudulent prac- 
tises, which caused him to be reported to the Continental Congress. He was 
convicted and severely reprimanded by a court martial appointed to try the 
case. Washington bestowed this reprimand, and Arnold, smarting under the 
disgrace, and pressed by the load of debt, attempted the grievous crime of 
betraying the post at West Point. He was regarded with suspicion, but 
Washington did not think him capable of treason. The price of his perfidy 
was to be a major general's commission in the English army and fifty thou- 
sand dollars. Major John Andre was employed by Sir Henry Clinton to 
complete the negotiations, which had been going on for months. 

West Point w^as a fortified position on the Hudson, deemed of great im- 
portance to both parties, and was strongly garrisoned by the Americans. 
The plans were, that Clinton was to sail up the Hudson, attack the post, and 
after a show of resistance, Arnold was to surrender all the arms and men to 
him. But the final arrangements must be made by a personal conference, 
and Andre was sent for this purpose. He was taken up the Hudson on 
board of a British vessel, the Vulture, and landed on the West shore, where 
he met Arnold at about midnight. At daylight their conference was not 
ended and Arnold took Andr6 to a house within the American lines. Some 
patriots on a point of land off which the Vulture lay, fired round shot at 



414 OUR NATION: 

her with such effect that she dropped down the river, and Andre was left 
behind. He was compelled to cross the Hudson, and start for New York 
on horseback. At Tarrytown he was stopped by three young Americans, 
searched, suspected and taken to the nearest American military post then in 
command of Colonel Jameson, who unwisely allowed the prisoner to send a 
letter to Arnold, although he could not see why; and then the traitor aban- 
doned the unfortunate Andre, and escaped in his own boat to the Vulture. 
Andre was more to be pitied than blamed, but, found in the vile condition of 
an enemy taken in disguise, he was tried as a spy, found guilty and hanged,. 
while the real miscreant escaped. Washington did his best to save the brave 
young ofificer, but the stern rules of war would not permit him to spare one 
engaged in such an act. There were dark intimations of other'treasons, and 
it would not do to pass this lightly by. Andre begged to die a soldier's 
death, but this was denied him, and he w^as hanged on the second day of 
October, 1780. The double traitor, Arnold, whose life was not to be com- 
pared with that of Andre, lived and enjoyed the price of his treason. 

And thus the campaign of the sixth year closed with a dark plot for the 
betrayal of the cause of the American States by one of its own high officers. 

THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE STRUGGLE. 

The events of the year 1781 opened with one of the noblest displays of 
true patriotism in the army. For long years the soldiers had endured every 
privation and suffering from the want of money and clothing. The bills of 
credit in which they had been paid depreciated in value until it was almost 
worthless. Faction and disagreement had agitated the Continental Congress 
and prevented needed action upon important measures. The soldiers had 
enlisted for three years, or during the war, and this they regarded as meaning 
for three years if the war did not sooner end, but the officers interpreted it 
for the entire war, even if it lasted longer than three years. The soldiers 
asked for pay which was not given them. On the first day of January, 
thirteen hundred of the Pennsylvania line, \v\\o regarded their term of enlist- 
ment as having expired, marched out of their camp at Morristown and deter- 
mined to return to Philadelphia in a body and demand their rights from 
Congress. General Anthony Wayne, who was much beloved by his com- 
mand, tried by threats and promises to dissuade them, but they would not be 
persuaded. The poor fellows thought, rightly enough, that they had a right- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 415 

eous cause of grievance. General Wayne stood before them and cocked his 
pistol, but they presented bayonets to his breast and said, " We love and 
respect you ; you have often led us to battle, but we are no longer under your 
command; be on your guard. If you fire your pistol we will put you to- 
instant death." Wayne appealed to their patriotism, and they pointed to the 
unfulfilled promises of the Congress. He told them of the comfort and aid their 
conduct would give the enemy, and they pointed to their tattered garments 
and poorly-fed bodies, but said that they were willing to fight for freedom, for 
it was dear to their hearts, but Congress must make adequate provision for 
their comfort and necessities, and declared that they were determined to go 
to Philadelphia to enforce their rights. Wayne went with them, and when at 
Princeton they halted and drew up a written programme of their demands. 
This was forwarded to Congress and resulted in a compliance with their just 
demands. This Pennsylvania line was disbanded, but when Sir Henry Clin- 
ton endeavored to treat with them and sent emissaries to promise them all 
their back pay, if they would join his army, one of the leaders said, " See^ 
comrades, he takes us for traitors! let us show him that the American army- 
can furnish but one Arnold, and that America has no truer friends than wc" 
They seized the emissaries and their papers and sent them to Wayne, who 
executed them as spies. When a reward was offered to the insurgents they 
refused to touch it and sent back word : " Necessity compelled us to demand 
our rights of Congress, but we desire no reward for doing our duty to our 
bleeding country." Many of them re-enlisted for the war. On the i8th of 
January the New Jersey troops, emboldened by this success, also mutinied^ 
but the mutiny was put down by harsher means. Congress was aroused to 
action, and devised means for the relief of the soldiers. Taxes were imposed 
and cheerfully paid; money was loaned on the credit of the government; a 
national bank was established, and Robert Morris, who had given his wealth 
and personal services to the country, and aided in establishing the national 
credit, was the president. He supplied the army with food and clothing 
bought on his own credit, and doubtless prevented it from disbanding by its 
own act. All honor to Robert Morris, who, though not a soldier, was a 
patriot and the soldier's friend. 

The military operations of the year were confined to the South, and 
opened with a series of depredations committed by the arch-traitor, Arnold, 
who seemed over anxious to inflict all the misery he could upon his suffering- 
country, and earn the price of innocent blood with which his treason had 



4i6 OUR NATION: 

been rewarded. He made two expeditions up the James river, destroying 
public and private property at Richmond and Petersburg; and although the 
Americans did their utmost to capture him, he was too cautious, watchful 
and quick for them, and after plundering the people on every hand, returned 
with the British fleet to the New England coast, where an inhuman butchery, 
equalled only by the massacre of the Wyoming Valley, was enacted, of which 
we will speak hereafter. 

General Greene was appointed to supersede General Gates in command 
of the American forces in the South. The battle of the Cowpens was fought 
January 17th, 1781, and resulted in a brilliant victory for the Americans. 
Then followed the most remarkable military movement in the war, the retreat 
■of General Greene through North Carolina to Virginia. He was not then 
strong enough to cope with the whole British army; but on the 15th of 
March, finding his force much increased in strength, he fought the battle of 
Guilford Court house, and although the Americans were repulsed and the 
British were in possession of the field, Charles Fox, in a speech in the House 
of Commons, declared "Another such victory will ruin the British army." A 
Jine in the Scotch ballad was fully illustrated: 

" They baith did fight, they baith did beat, they baith did rin awa'." 

'Cornwallis could not maintain the ground he had gained, and the Ameri- 
cans retreated in good order. Greene rallied his forces and pursued the 
British to Deep River, Chatham county. On April 25th the American army 
Avas surprised and defeated at Hobkirk's Hill, but Creene conducted his 
retreat in good order. The British commander, Rawdon, set fire to Camden 
and retreated May lOth. Within a week Greene captured four important 
posts, but was unsuccessful at Fort Ninety-six, from which he retired June 
19th. Successes at other points were being reported. Fort Galphin and the 
city of Augusta, Georgia, had been taken by the Americans under Major 
Henry Lee. Now the British were retreating and the Americans were the 
pursuers. 

The battle of Eutaw Spring, September 8th, resulted in a victory for 
Greene. Th^ partisan bands under Marion and Sumter were winning vic- 
tories on the Santee waters. The French army left New England to join the 
Americans on the Hudson, and Washington succeeded in avoiding the watch- 
fulness of General Clinton in New York, crossed the Hudson into New 
Jersey, and was well on his way before Clinton was aware of his real inten- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 417 

tion. Arnold was sent to New England by the British to draw Washington 
back. Then followed the bloody and inhuman butchery of the garrison at 
Fort Griswold, opposite New London, in which nearly one hundred men were 
murdered in cold blood after they had surrendered. 

Cornwallis was now fortifying his army at Yorktown in Virginia. Clinton 
sent a fleet to aid him, but he was too late, for when the British ships came 
to the mouth of the Chesapeake they found the French fleet there, under De 
Grasse, to oppose their advance. The combined American and French forces, 
under Washington and Rochambeau were soon investing the whole British 
force under Cornwallis. A desperate defense was made and repeated sallies, 
were attempted to drive the assailants from their works, but all without suc- 
cess. The end was approaching. In a few days the defenses at Yorktown 
were captured by the armies of Washington and his French compeer. The 
British guns were put to silence. One night Cornwallis attempted to break 
the lines and get his men back to New York, but was prevented by the obsti- 
nate fire of the besiegers, and barely escaped to his intrenchments. All hope 
was over, and eight weeks after the seige began Cornwallis and his army of 
eight thousand men capitulated to the American commander-in-chief. 

Cornwallis felt the keenness of his humiliation and feigned sickness on- 
the day of his surrender, and therefore sent his sword by an inferior of^cer.. 
General Lincoln, who had before surrendered to Cornwallis under the most 
humiliating terms at Charleston, S. C, was detailed to receive the formal sur- 
render. When the sword was handed to him he took it and at once returned 
it to the representative of the fallen English general. The war was virtually- 
over; a little skirmishing was going on in Georgia and South Carolina, but alL 
was rejoicing and gladness among the victorious Americans. 

Old King George was stubborn, but his Parliament would not sustairti 
him, and although a treaty of peace was not signed until 1783, there was but 
little hostile movement in America by the British troops, while the Americans 
were constantly on the watch. Savannah was evacuated July nth, 1782. 
The last blood was shed in September following. Measures were taken by 
the American Congress and the British government to effect terms of peace. 
Peace was made with France and Spain. The Americans had become ex- 
hausted by the long struggle of eight years, and could show little more than 
their soil and their liberty in return for it all. Their commerce was dead;- 
their fields ruined ; some of their towns and cities desolated, and they had no 
money. The public debt had swelled to one hundred and seventy millions of 



4i8 OUR NATION: 

dollars, and there was nothing which could be called a government. Five 
commissioners were appointed to meet the English commission in Paris, and 
effect a settlement. John Adams, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas 
Jefferson and Henry Laurens were the five chosen. A preliminary treaty 
was signed November 30th, 1782, but the final treaty was not signed till Sep- 
tember 3d, 1783. That treaty gave full independence to the thirteen United 
States of America, with ample territory to the great lakes on the North and 
"westward to the Mississippi river, with unlimited rights to fish on the banks 
of Newfoundland. The two Floridas were returned to Spain. 

There is one little episode prior to this time which we desire to mention : 
After the surrender of Cornwallis on the 19th of October, 1781, and before 
peace was declared, everything seemed to be in a state of confusion. The 
thirteen States were loosely held together. Congress had but little power. 
There was no money to pay either officers or men, and they had been fighting 
much without pay. The army would be disbanded. They had fought 
bravely, heroically, and, as patriots, had won the victory. Now they must 
find a livelihood amid the desolations which had been wrought by the fearful 
struggle. The gloomy aspect threw a pall over all classes. Congress voted 
to retire the officers on half pay for life ; but this was afterwards changed to 
full pay for five years, and the soldiers to full pay for four months, in part 
pay for their losses. Great dissatisfaction arose all over the country. Many 
attributed the trouble to the weakness of a Republican form of government, 
and desired a monarchy. Nicola, a foreign officer in a Pennsylvania regi- 
ment, in a well-written letter, advocated the claims of a monarchy, and pro- 
posed that the army should make George Washington king, but he was 
sharply rebuked for this by Washington himself, and it was never afterwards 
broached. 

The United States was now a nation recognized by England, France, 
Spain and Holland. But the feeble compact claimed by the Continental 
Congress, called Articles of Confederation, could not long hold them together. 
Each State might or might not comply with its demand, as she saw fit. That 
power could only discuss and advise. No taxes could be collected but by 
their authority; they could only apportion certain amounts for the States to 
raise or not, as they chose, and most frequently they did not chose, and it 
became utterly impossible to raise money by this method. The hardships 
and miseries of the people fell with a severe burden upon the laborers. The 
sufferings of a patient people could not endure everything, and their im- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 419 

patience showed itself in mutterings of discontent. A band of two thousand 
men in Massachusetts arose in revolt and demanded that the collection of 
taxes should cease for a time. It was some time before this insurrection 
could be put down. Four or five years of intense privation and suffering 
followed the Revolution ; and surrounded with the troubles of a misgoverned 
people, it almost seemed as if the war, after all, had been a failure. 

There had been dark days during the war, when men's hearts failed them 
and they sometimes lost confidence in Washington. Reverses and disasters 
came thick and fast, and he was retreating far too much. He adhered to a 
defensive policy when Congress was demanding quick and decisive blows to 
curb the invader. The people did not consider the utter insufficiency of his 
resources, but laid the blame of every reverse upon him. But when the tide 
of battle had turned, and Washington, with his well-disciplined army, was 
moving on the offensive, and victory brought glory to him, they feared that 
he would become too powerful, and, like other conquerors, assume kingly 
prerogatives. His army loved him with a fervor that amounted almost to 
idolatry, and he had but to speak the word, it was feared, and they would rise 
to hail him king. The country feared that he might prove another example 
of a successful military chieftain, who would be actuated by the lawless and 
vulgar lust of power which has disgraced the pages of history. 

But when the war was over, Washington sheathed his sword and resigned 
his commission. He had refused to receive pay for his services, and rendered 
to Congress a bill of his actual expenses, kept with neatness and precision, 
for the whole period from the time he assumed command to the close of the 
war. He then retired to cultivate the affection of men, and to practice the 
domestic virtues. He attended to his farm, and was thankful to escape the 
burden of responsibility which official position must bring. This exhibition 
of noble grandeur in its wonderful simplicity, endeared him forever to the 
hearts of the American people. Mount Vernon was to become the shrine to 
which the feet of patriots would turn, and where the measure of American 
devotion would be full. George Washington had won the proudest place in 
the hearts of his countrymen. The family of generals who composed his 
staff and his immediate companions loved him as a brother. The common 
soldier regarded him as much more than an ordinary being, and his presence 
w^ould inspire them with intense enthusiasm. The great mass of the people 
all over the country hailed him as the deliverer of his people and esteemed 
him above all glorious names of those w^ho had won them independence. 



420 OUR NATION: 

Washington and Lafayette were the two names that blended in all the public 
addressses and orations of the periods, and rested alike upon the lips of the 
rich and poor. 

THE CONSTITUTIONAL PERIOD. 

Washington and the leading minds of this period saw the great need of 
modifying or changing the Articles of Confederation which had held the 
thirteen States so loosely together. Congress was only a name, and the 
league held the States only for a moment ; it might be sundered by any one 
or more of them at will. The lovers of their country could discover at a 
glance that there was imperative need of a central government which should 
exercise power over all, and be respected by all. In the absence of such a 
government, the liberties of the people would be constantly in danger from 
internal dissension within and foreign foes without. Some one might rise 
with the power to make himself king. Conspicuous among those who shared 
this view with Washington, was a New York man who had entered the army 
at nineteen, and had been the friend and companion of Washington through 
nearly all the war — Alexander Hamilton. He had risen to high rank in mili- 
tary command, and afterward he was called to high position in civil life. He 
brought order from the utter financial chaos which threatened the very 
existence of the army and country. It was he who first suggested the 
ground work of the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED States. He was the firm 
friend and staunch ally of Washington all through the troublous times that 
tried the very life of the infant nation, before the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion. Hamilton was a brave and skillful soldier, a brilliant debater, a persua- 
sive writer and a true statesman. 

At the suggestion of Washington, a convention to remedy the defects of 
the Articles of Confederation was called to assemble at Annapolis, Maryland, 
in September, 1786; only five States sent delegates. John Dickinson was 
appointed chairman. They did little except to appoint a committee to revise 
the articles, and adjourn with a recommendation to Congress to call the 
meeting of a convention in Philadelphia the following May, to complete the 
work. Congress recommended the several States to send delegates to such a 
convention. The convention met with delegates from all the States except- 
ing Ne\v Hampshire and Rhode Island, but they had not gone far before they 
found that no amount of amending and tinkering could make the old "Arti- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 421 

cles of Confederation " serve the purpose of a permanent government. For 
a number of days there was no progress. Such was the great variety and 
difference in opinion that everything was at a standstill. Franklin urged the 
necessity of imploring Divine assistance in a memorable speech. " How has 
it happened, sir," he said, " that while groping so long in the dark, divided in 
our opinions, and now ready to separate without accomplishing the great 
object of our meeting, that we have hitherto not once thought of humbly 
applying to the Father pf Lights to illuminate our understandings? In the 
beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we 
had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were 
heard and graciously answered. * * * The longer I live, the more con- 
vincing proofs I see of the truth that God governs in the affairs of men. I 
therefore move that henceforth prayers, imploring the assistance of Heaven 
and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this assembly every morning 
before we proceed to business." The resolution was not adopted. The con- 
vention, excepting three or four members, thought prayers were not neces- 
sary, because in this case they would be merely formal. 

After long and earnest discussion the convention referred all papers to a 
committee of detail, and adjourned for ten days. They reassembled and the 
committee reported a rough draft of the present Constitution. Amendments 
were made, long and angry discussion followed, and the whole matter was 
referred to a committee for final revision. This final report was made Sep- 
tember 1 2th, 1787, and the Constitution was submitted to the Legislatures 
of the several States for adoption. The convention had worked for four 
months, and was composed of the ablest and best men in the country. 
George Washington was the president ; Benjamin Franklin brought the ripe 
experience of four score years to this crowning task of a noble life. Alex- 
ander Hamilton came from New York. And with such men came many 
\vhose names are held in enduring honor by a grateful people. These men 
were the peers of any in the country, and this assembly had not seen its 
equal since the Congress which adopted the " Declaration of Independence " 
had met in the same hall eleven years before. Their great work had gone 
out to the country, and the people were divided in sentiment upon it. There 
were many true patriots and lovers of their country who were opposed to it. 
They were strong in their argument, and conscientious in their opposition. 
Some feared the most those evils which would arise from a weak government, 
and sought relief from this in a close union of the States under a strong cen- 



422 OUR NATION: 

tral government, and some feared the example of the over-governed nations 
of Europe and hestitated to give too much power to the central government 
for fear that a despotism might arise. State sovereignty, sectional interests, 
and radical democracy, all had their advocates, and were united only in 
opposing the ratification. Hamilton wrote pamphlets and articles for the 
public press in its favor. Washington threw the whole weight of his influ- 
ence in its favor. Richard Henry Lee of Virginia was one of the most per- 
sistent opposers of the Constitution. Excitement ran high. Somewhat 
reluctantly, and in many cases by bare majorities, the States all ratified it, 
and it became the organic law of the land. At once, ten amendments were 
proposed to meet the views of those who were apprehensive of too much 
power in the central government. A trial of its powers for nearly a century 
has demonstrated the wisdom of those men who devised it, and asked the 
blessing of God upon their deliberations. 

This Constitution is the supreme law of the Ian.'.. Under its authority 
the President, the Congress, and the Judiciary act ; and all the laws passed 
must be in conformity to it. Congress may pass an act unanimously and the 
President heartily sign it, but if the Supreme Court decide that it is contrary 
to the Constitution, it has no binding force as law, and can never be exe- 
cuted. The great love of law which predominates in the Anglo-Saxon race 
has caused a reverence for this document which rouses the nation to arms 
when once it is assailed. 

When eleven States had ratified this Constitution, the Continental Con- 
gress took measures to carry it out, and fixed the time for choosing the elec- 
tors of President and Vice President. They provided for an organization of 
the new form of government, and a transfer of their power. On the fourth 
day of March the National CONSTITUTION became the supreme law of the 
land, and the Continental Congress passed out of existence. This was the 
commencement of the glorious career of the United States as a nation. 

One thing we should mention before passing to the Administration of 
the first President. The old Congress had organized a territorial government 
for the vast region northwest of the Ohio river. In the bill in which this was 
done there were many important provisions. It contained a provision strik- 
ing at the old English law of primogeniture, in which estates descended to 
the eldest born. Instead of this law another was made which divided the 
property among all the children, or the next of kin. It also declared that 
" there shall neither be slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 423 

otherwise than in punishment for crime whereof the party shall be duly con- 
victed." This was adopted July 13th, 1787, and very soon a mighty tide of 
immigration began to flow into that fertile region, amounting to twenty 
thousand in one year — 1788. 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON. 

When the vote of electors was opened by Congress it was found that 
George Washington had been unanimously elected for President, and John 
Adams for Vice President of the United States. 

There was much work to be done to get the new machine of government 
into working order. The first serious question was what to do with the 
public debt. Washington, perplexed, asked a friend, " What is to be done 
about this heavy debt ? " " There is but one man in America can tell you," 
replied his friend , " and that is Alexander Hamilton." The subject of the 
tariff was brought forward by James Madison, the acknowledged leader of 
the House of Representatives, two days after the vote of President and Vice 
President had been counted. He proposed a tax on tonnage and a duty on 
foreign goods brought into the United States, that were favorable to Ameri- 
can shipping. Then three executive departments were organized, namely, of 
the Treasury, of War, and of Foreign Affairs, at the head of each was a secre- 
tary. These were to be appointed by the President with the concurrence of 
the Senate, and should form his advisory council, and report in writing when 
required. Alexander Hamilton was appointed Secretary of the Treasury. 
He was the most able financier of his time, and made those remarkable 
reports which for years formed the financial policy of the national govern- 
ment. He proposed the funding of all the public debt, registered and unreg- 
istered; the payment of the interest; the redemption of the Continental 
money, and the assumption of the State debts. The government certificates 
and Continental money had depreciated from their face value, and were held 
by speculators who had bought them at a low price, and some thought that 
the government ought not to pay full price for them, but Hamilton wisely 
claimed that the public credit was concerned in its full redemption. All 
these outstanding debts were to be funded, and interest paid at six per cent, 
until the government should be able to pay the principal. A sinking fund 
was formed by appropriating the receipts of post of^ces, and it was pro- 
phesied that in five years the United States could borrow money in Europe 



424 OUR NATION: 

at five per cent. A system of revenue from imports and internal duties was 
devised by Hamilton. All of his proposed measures were adopted by Con- 
gress at their second session. 

While the House was at work on the revenues, the Senate were engaged 
on the problem of the judiciary. Senator Ellsworth, of Connecticut, proposed 
a measure which was adopted, with some changes. Webster afterward said 
of Hamilton, in his eloquent style, " He smote the rock of national resources 
and abundant streams of revenue gushed forth. He touched the dead corpse 
of the public credit and it sprang upon its feet." 

The vigor of a government, so unlike the old Congress, renewed the 
public confidence, and commerce began at once to improve. Ships were 
built, and in a few years the new flag was floating on almost every sea and in 
every port. The people at home were recovering from their poverty imposed 
by the war. Agriculture and manufactures were prosperous, and a steady 
stream of immigration from the coast westward was opening up the wonder- 
ful resources of the regions beyond the Alleghanies and Ohio river. North 
Carolina and Rhode Island, the only States which had not adopted the Con- 
stitution, now came into the Union, the first, November, 1789, and the latter 
May 29, 1790. 

The third session of the first Congress met in December, 1790, and found 
all departments of government in good condition, ample revenue coming in,, 
and general prosperity on all sides. During this session, the first of a long 
list of States which should come in to swell the original thirteen was admitted. 
Vermont came into the Union February i8th, 1791, and the territory south- 
west of the Ohio was formed. A national currency was established. The 
question of a national coinage of money was decided at the first session of 
the second Congress, and a mint was established at Philadelphia. The post 
office department was organized at this session, but the Postmaster General 
was not made a cabinet officer until 1829. Most of the first term of Wash- 
ington as President was "taken up in getting the government into working 
order, but such was the moderation, wisdom, and patriotism of these grand 
men who performed this gigantic but novel work, in which they had no 
model to guide them, that but few changes have had to be made, and none of 
these few were in any degree radical. 

There had been some disturbance with the Indians in the northwest, in- 
cited by emissaries from the British, who still held some of the posts on the 
frontier, contrary to the provisions of the treaty of Paris. Open hostilities 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 425 

began in 1790, and General St, Clair, the governor of the Territory, with two 
thousand troops, was surprised and defeated in Darke county, Ohio, Novem- 
ber 4, 1791. General Anthony Wayne was sent to take command and punish 
the savages, which he did so effectually that they caused little trouble after- 
wards until the war of 1812-15, Kentucky was admitted to the Union June 
1st, 1792. 

Party spirit assumed definite form during the second session of the 
.Second Congress, just as the first term of Washington was coming to an end. 
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were the two men around whom 
two political organizations began to crystallize. They were both members of 
Washington's cabinet. Hamilton became the leader of the Federalists and 
Jefferson of the Republicans. The Federalists believed in a strong central 
■government, and would concentrate the power of the national government, 
while the Republicans would distribute the power among the States. Hence 
arose the strife between the two, and the country was being stirred by bitter 
discussion. In the heat of this excitement the second presidential election 
came on. Washington and Adams were re-elected by large majorities. The 
Republicans were gaining in numbers and strength, and when the French 
Republic had declared war against England, Spain and Holland, Genet came 
from France to procure aid and sympathy from America. The Republicans 
and many Federalists received him with open arms, and he began to fit out 
privateers to fight England and Spain. Washington prudently issued a pro- 
clamation of neutrality. May 9th, 1793, but Genet insisted upon carrying out 
his schemes, and tried to excite hostility between our people and their own 
government. Washington finally requested his government to recall him, 
which was done, and the French assured the United States that their govern- 
ment disapproved of the course Genet had taken. 

The first insurrection against the government arose in Pennsylvania, and 
is called the " Whiskey Rebellion." It was caused by Congress imposing an 
excise duty on domestic liquors. This measure was very unpopular, and 
awakened opposition. The insurrection broke out in the western part of 
Pennsylvania and spread over all that portion of the State, and into Virginia. 
At one time six or seven thousand men were under arms. The local militia 
were powerless, or in sympathy with the rebels. Washington issued two 
proclamations to them to disperse, but seeing that they would not disband 
by peaceful means, he ordered out a large body of militia from New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, under command of General Henry 



426 OUR NATION: 

Lee, which quelled the rebellion, and thus the trouble that had threatened 
the stability of the government was averted. 

Another dark cloud arose above the horizon. England and America 
accused each other of infringing upon the terms of the treaty of 1783. The 
United States claimed that the British had not indemnified them for negroes 
carried away at the close of the war. That British posts on the frontier were 
maintained contrary to treaty. They had been inciting the Indians to hos- 
tility, and in the war with France the neutrality of our ships had been 
violated. The British claimed that the United States had not done as they 
agreed concerning the property of loyalists, and the debts contracted in 
England prior to the Revolution. War seemed inevitable, and was only 
averted by the prudence and wisdom of Washington, who sent John Jay as 
envoy extraordinary to England to compromise and settle. He effected the 
best arrangement he could by which the British might collect all debts act- 
ually due them before the war, but the United States would not pay for the 
slaves taken away. The British would pay for unlawful seizure in the war 
with France, and evacuate the forts on the frontier. This treaty was not 
satisfactory to most of the people, but Congress ratified it on the 24th of 
June, 1795. Soon afterwards John Jay proved his ability and patriotism by 
concluding a treaty with Spain, by which the United States gained the free 
use of the Mississippi River and the port of New Orleans for ten years. 
Through the whole of Washington's administration, the greatest prudence, 
circumspection and wisdom were needed. No sooner had one difificulty 
been surmounted than another appeared. The infant commerce, which was 
spreading all over the world, was attacked by the Algerian pirates, who cap- 
tured large numbers of American sailors, and held them in slavery in the 
Barbary States, until their ransom was paid. This gave rise to efforts to 
establish a navy. After many attempts had been made. Congress finally, 
in the spring of 1794, passed a law creating a navy and appropriating seven 
hundred thousand dollars to build and equip vessels. In the absence of the 
proposed navy, the United States, in common with other governments, 
entered into a treaty to pay the Dcy of Algiers an annual tribute for the 
ransom of captives taken by his pirates. 

Washington's administration, which was drawing to a close, had been one 
of incessant care and action. The two parties that had arisen during his 
administration were ready to enter the political contest when Washington 
issued his famous Farewell Address. After retirino; from office he lived for 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 427 

nearly three years at his home, Mount Vernon, and died December 14th, 
1799. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

The two parties had but Httle time to engage in the contest for the 
election of a successor to Washington after the publication of his Farewell 
Address in September, for the election came in November. The contest was 
sharp and earnest, and resulted in a victory for both sides. John Adams was 
elected President, and Thomas Jefferson, Vice President. They were in- 
augurated March 4th, 1797, and were confronted at the very outset of their 
administration by a threatened war with France. The French Directory,, 
which had the management of government at the time, had ordered Pinckney, 
the American minister, to leave the country; depredations were committed 
upon American commerce and the French minister had insulted the United 
States. Adams took very decided and active measures to redress the wrong. 
He sent three ministers to France to settle the difficulty, with Pinckney at 
their head. The French would not treat with them, and the Americans made 
ready for war. The navy was finished and ships put in commission. A large 
land force was collected and equipped, and there was a naval battle in which 
the French man-of-war was conquered. But there had been no formal decla- 
ration of war, and the French Republic, seeing the strong position of the 
United States, receded and made overtures of settlement. Three envoys 
were sent and conferred with Napoleon, and concluded a treaty of friendship 
and peace. The ambassadors returned to America, and the army was dis- 
banded. 

Two very unpopular measures were passed by the administration known 
as the Alien and Sedition laws, which were repealed the next year. 

The death of Washington in the last month of the century was a sad 
bereavement to the country, and every party voice was hushed in silence 
while the nation did honor to his memory. Napoleon, then First Consul of 
France, rendered honor to his memory in a General Order to his army in 
which he said, " Washington is dead ! This great man fought against 
tyranny; he established the liberties of his country. His memory will always 
be dear to the French people as it will be to all free men of the two worlds; 
and especially to French soldiers, who, like him and the American soldiers, 
have combated for liberty and equality." 

The Congress of the United States, and the Legislatures of all the States, 



428 OUR NATION: 

united with the whole people all over the land in paying the highest tribute 
to his memory. 

In the year 1800 the second enumeration of the population was taken, 
and the census reported 5,319,762, an increase in ten years of thirty per cent. 
There came another Presidential election in which party spirit ran high. 
The Democratic party nominated Thomas Jefferson for President and 
Aaron Burr for Vice President; and the Federalists nominated John Adams 
and C. C. Pinckney. There was no election in the electoral college, and it 
was sent to the House of Representatives. After a severe struggle, in which 
thirty-five ballots were taken, Mr. Jefferson was elected President. Aaron 
Burr was chosen Vice President, by the House of Representatives. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

The inauguration address of Mr. Jefferson was waited for with much 
anxiety by the people throughout the country, as he was the first exponent 
of the new party who had been raised to the chief magistracy of the land. 
He surprised all classes by the manly and conservative views which he 
uttered, and at once all fears were allayed. Although he made some re- 
movals from office and set vigorously at work to reform abuses and irregu- 
larities, his measures were so conciliatory and just that many Federalists 
came over to his party and heartily supported his administration. The 
obnoxious laws were repealed. The diplomatic system was put on a better 
footing, the judiciary was revised, certain offices were abolished, and vigor 
and enlightened views marked the beginning of his term. One State and two 
territories were added to the Union in his first term of office. Ohio was 
admitted in the fall of 1802, and the territories of Louisiana and New 
Orleans were organized in the vast domain of Louisiana purchased of France 
for fifteen million dollars. This bargain had been effected in April, 1803, 
and the United States took peaceful occupation of the land in the autumn of 
the same year. It contained eighty-five thousand mixed population and 
forty thousand negroes. 

A naval expedition was sent out to the Mediterranean to put an end to 
the infamous extortion of tribute from the United States for the redemption 
of American sailors held in glavery by the Barbary States. 

Captain Bainbridge went to Algiers in 1800 with the tribute money, and 
when it was paid the Dey demanded the use of his ship to carry an ambassa- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 429 

dor to Constantinople. When Bainbridge refused, the Dey repHed, " You 
pay me tribute, by which you become my slaves, and therefore I have a right 
to order you as I think proper." Although the captain was obliged to com- 
ply with that demand, the insult resulted in a severe punishment, which a 
few years later put an end to white slavery in the Barbary States. It is hard 
for us to realize that even in the nineteenth century our countrymen have 
been held in great numbers in the most degrading slavery in the north of 
Africa. The merchantmen who displayed the American flag m.ade their 
appearance in the Mediterranean directly after the Revolution. The pirates 
of the Barbary States would attack them, and when captured would sell the 
seamen into slavery. There were thousands of sailors from New England 
and the Atlantic coast thus held when the century began. The indignation 
of the United States was aroused, and they determined to put an end to the 
infamy, which the government of Europe had long tolerated at their very 
doors. In 1803 Commodore Preble was sent to humble the pirates. After 
bringing Morocco to terms, he went to Tripoli. There he had the misfortune 
to lose a large vessel, the Philadelphia, which struck upon a rock, and before 
he could be got ofT she was captured. The officers were treated as prisoners 
of war, but the crew were sold into slavery. The next year, 1S04, this disas- 
ter was somewhat repaired. Lieutenant Decatur with seventy-six volunteers, 
entered the harbor of Tripoli and boarded the Philadelphia, drove off her 
captors, and setting fire to her, made their escape without losing a man. 
This gallant act received ample acknowledgment from the Navy and the 
home government. 

In the first term of Mr. Jefferson the first exploration to the Pacific was 
organized, and sent out under the command of Captain Lewis and Clarke, 
They left the Mississippi the 14th of May, 1804, 

Mr. Jefferson was re-elected for a second term, but Mr. Burr, who had 
displeased the Democratic party, was not nominated by them, and George 
Clinton was elected Vice President, Burr, in anger, and feeling that he had 
lost the confidence of the people, resolved apparently to cause a revolt in the 
regions southwest of the Mississippi. He had murdered Alexander Hamilton 
in a duel July 11, 1804, and was generally shunned by all classes. The sup- 
posed attempt of Burr against the Government failed. He was tried for 
treason, but was acquitted. It was not proven. 

There were some indications of a war with Spain, but if was providen- 
tially averted. The United States were continually irritated by the British 



430 OUR NATION: 

claim to a right to search American vessels and take away any suspected 
deserters from their army or navy. An act of partial non-intercourse with 
England took effect November, 1806. 

In 1807, the first steamboat was built by Robert Fulton, and the applica- 
tion of steam to navigation became a fact. The ominous war cloud that 
threatened the country grew heavy and dark, France and England were at 
war, and they both were inflicting injury and insult upon our young but 
thriving commerce. England still seized and searched American vessels: 
issued orders and decrees against commerce; proclaimed blockades on paper, 
and was crippling the marine interests of the United States, in order to 
prevent them from reaping any benefit from the French carrying trade. 
Napoleon retaliated with like orders, decrees and paper blockades; and be- 
tween the upper and nether millstones of these two powers the commerce of 
America was being ground to pieces. The crisis came. Four seamen of the 
United States man-of-war, Chesapeake, were claimed as deserters from the 
British ship, Mclainpus, and Commodore Barron of the Chesapeake refused to 
give them up. A little while afterwards the Chesapeake was unexpectedly 
attacked by two English vessels, and was obliged to surrender some men. 
This aroused the nation, and Jefferson issued a proclamation in July, 1807, 
that all British ships should leave American waters. Great Britain continued 
in her unjust course, and a general embargo was placed upon all shipping, 
detaining all American and English vessels in any of the ports of the United 
States, and ordering all American vessels in other ports to return home, that 
their seamen might be trained for war. This embargo was the cause of great 
distress, and put American patriotism and firmness to a severe test. This 
measure failed to accomplish the desired result, and was repealed three days 
before Jefferson retired from the office which he had held for eight years, and 
at the same time Congress passed a law forbidding any commercial inter- 
course with France and England so long as their unjust orders and edicts 
were in force. James Madison was elected President, and George Clinton 
Vice President, for the next four yeitrs. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MADISON. 

There was no man in the unprejudiced judgment of the people of all 
classes better fitted to administer the government in this period of gloom and 
doubt than James Madison, who had been the Secretary of State under 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 431 

Jefferson. He made no change in policy, and pressed the claims of the 
United States for a redress of grievances upon both England and France. 
The latter acceded to the rights of America, but still continued to deal in a 
covert and underhanded way, while England, in a more honorable but wicked 
way, persisted in her right to impress and search. There was an important 
question at issue between the United States and the foreign governments. 
It was the right of changing allegiance from one country to another. Eng- 
land held that a man born under her flag was forever an English subject, and 
although he might settle in any part of the world, he could claim the privi- 
leges of a British subject, and was bound by the obligation of citizenship to 
render service to the English flag. America, on the other hand, claimed that 
a man had the right to choose the place of his citizenship, and could renounce 
his allegiance to the land of his birth, and become a citizen of any country he 
should choose to settle in. The Englishmen who had settled in America 
were regarded as American citizens and nothing else. America would defend 
the rights of her adopted sons, and maintain her position toward all the 
nations of the world. 

England had a system of obtaining seamen for her navy by impressment; 
that is, she would take men who were engaged in the merchant service and 
compel them to serve on her men-of-war. This was a species of slavery, and 
the men thus obtained would embrace the first opportunity to desert. These 
desertions became frequent, and the natural refuge in America was in most 
instances sought and the protection of its flag obtained. Now it was very 
hard to distinguish between an English and an American sailor, and when the 
American ships were searched the English were not very exact as to nation- 
ality, provided they got a first class sailor. Thus things went on until 181 1, 
when the British sloop of war, Little Belt, was met off the Virginia coast by 
the American frigate, President, and was obliged to pull down her flag, after 
a severe fight. 

This same year an Indian revolt broke out which was evidently the result 
of English intrigue. All the frontier tribes were engaged in it, under a 
crafty, intrepid and unscrupulous chief, Tecumseh. It was suppressed by 
General William H. Harrison, after winning a decisive battle at Tippecanoe, 
in which the whole Indian force was dispersed. The Americans were now 
ready for war. England had an immense navy of nine hundred vessels with 
one hundred and forty-four thousand men, while America had only twelve 
vessels, which carried about three hundred guns. It seemed the wildest folly 



432 OUR NATION: 

to cope with " the mistress of the seas " at such a fearful odds, but the rally- 
ing cry, " Free Trade and Sailors' Rights " was taken up from the 
Lakes to the Gulf, and war was formally declared June 19, 1812. The peo- 
ple of the West and North Avere no less enthusiastic than on the seaboard. 
The only region where the Federalists, or peace part}', was predominant was 
in New England. Congress at once voted an appropriation of fifteen million 
■dollars for the army, and three million for the navy, and authorized the 
President to enlist twenty-five thousand regulars and fifty thousand volun- 
teers for the army, and call out one hundred thousand militia for the defense 
of the coast. 

THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE, 

as this contest was rightly named, now began. Benjamin Franklin had said 
to a friend who had called the Revolution the Avar of independence, " Not the 
war of independence, but the \\'?iX for independence." And now the second 
act of the grand drama was to be presented to the world. There had been 
all along a suspicion that England had not relinquished her hope to regain 
the colonies she had lost. The constant intrigues with the Indians, the subtle 
arts of diplomacy, and her heavy armament in Canada pointed to this. The 
Americans were watchful and jealous, and now the whole force of their power 
was engaged to settle the pending question forever. Four days after the 
declaration of war, England had repealed her blockading decree, and there 
remained only the question of the right of search and expatriation. The 
British minister at Washington had offered to peaceably settle the question 
at difference, but his proposition was rejected by his government. 

The first attempts of the Americans, in the war, were signal failures. 
General William Hull was ordered to invade the British province of Canada, 
but after a feeble attempt he was compelled to retire and even afterwards 
to surrender. He was put on trial before a court martial, on his return to 
the States, found guilty, and sentenced to be shot. But he had been a brave 
ofificer in the Revolution, and for his past services he was pardoned. His 
reputation was afterwards vindicated, and the cloud was removed from his 
fair name, but he retired to private life. The war had been long threatening, 
and Canada had fortified her strong points and prepared for a threatened 
invasion. The able generals of the Revolution were now either all dead, or 
too old for active service ; and the army was either under the command of 



i 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 433 

men who had been inferior officers in their young manhood and were now old 
men, or of men who had seen but Httle service except with the Indians. 

A second invasion under Colonel Van Renssellear was equally unsuccess- 
ful. The whole army of the Northwest had surrendered, and nothing was 
gained at that point. But on the sea, the American sailor had dared to 
measure strength with the British, and had been remarkably successful in 
every engagement during the first year of the war. In spite of the tremen- 
dous odds in the navies of the two countries, the American was gaining vic- 
tory after victory. The British ship Gncrricrc had been taken by the frigate 
Constitution, August 19, 18 12. The Frolic had struck the English flag to the 
little Wasp Oztoh^r i8th. T\\q Macedonian 's.wxxQw^QXftA to the United States 
October 25th, and t\\<i Java to the Constit2ition December 29th, all in the same 
year. This rekindled the national spirit, and made up for the defeat on the 
land. The country was justly elated by these successes, and sustained the 
administration by re-electing Mr. Madison to a second term. 

The second year of the war, and the first of Mr. Madison's second term, 
was signalized by a series of important victories by the Americans in Canada; 
and the naval victory of Commodore Perry, on Lake Erie, by which the 
United States became masters of the Great Lakes. These were cheering to 
the Americans. At sea, England was doing her best to retrieve the severe 
blows she had received the year previous, and regain her injured prestige as 
" mistress of the seas." The loss she had met the autumn before, of five 
ships, was a heavy blow to her pride, and her statesmen regarded this humilia- 
tion as greater than the loss of so many battles. No other country, before 
this, had produced sailors equal to hers. Now she had met her first disasters 
from an inferior, and strenuous effort must be made to undo this disgrace. 
The British nation and navy felt this, and put fc^rth their best endeavors to 
show their superiority. Two English ships cruised off Boston in the early 
summer of 181 3, and Captain Broke sent a challenge to Captain Lawrence of 
the Chesapeake to come out and " try the fortunes of their respective flags." 
The English captain sent one of his ships away, and with the SJiannon waited 
for the CJiesapeake to come out. Captain Lawrence accepted the challenge, 
and went to his death. The fight lasted only fifteen minutes, but in that time 
the CJiesapeake was discomfited, her commander killed, and her flag struck to 
the proud ensign of Britain. This was on June ist, 1813. This same Captain 
Lawrence, who exclaimed, " Don't give up the ship ! " with his latest breath, 
had, in February before, taken the English frigate Peacock, with the sloop 



434 OUR NATION: 

Hornet. In August another disaster befell the American navy. It was the 
loss of the Argus, which had taken Mr. Crawford, the minister, to France, 
which was obliged to surrender to the Pelican. The tide of victory now 
turned, and the English brig Boxer struck her flag to the brig Enterprise, 
September 5th. The complete naval victory of Commodore Perry, on Lake 
Erie, on September 11, in which he captured the whole English fleet of six 
vessels, followed. When the year closed, the balance seemed to be in favor 
of the Americans. On land, the war had been waged with varying fortunes. 

The British had talked of chastising America into submission, and the 
instrument they sent was a squadron under the command of Admiral Cock- 
burn, which was scattered to different points on the Atlantic coast and burned, 
robbed and slaughtered, tvithotit mercy. In April, they destroyed the town 
of Lewiston, on the Delaware; in May, Frenchtown, Havre de Grace, George- 
town, and Frederickstown on the Chesapeake, and all along the southern 
coast committed their fearful work of depredation and pillage. Commodore 
Hardy was sent to the New England coast, but his conduct everywhere was 
in strong contrast to that of Admiral Cockburn. He acted like a high-minded 
gentleman and generous enemy. He landed at Castine, Maine, and sent a 
land force up the Penobscot to capture the sloop of \\ 2.x John Adams. 

The war was now carried on with renewed vigor by the United States 
and men and money were furnished without stint. The Americans were 
gaining victories and matters were progressing. Then came an act which 
was most reprehensible, and unusual in the annals of civilized warfare, for 
which the home government of England was solely responsible. Veteran 
troops of Wellington's Army, who had fought the French for years, were sent 
to America in the Spring of 1814. Some of them, destined to attempt the 
capture of the National Capital, landed on the shore of Maryland and pushed 
on towards Washington City. On their way occurred a sharp battle in which 
the Americans were defeated. The British entered the city: plundered private 
dwellings, and the Capitol, the President's house and other public buildings, 
and then withdrew. The navy yard and some ships in process of building 
were burned by the Americans themselves. The bridge across the Potomac 
was destroyed, and then the British withdrew to the coast. The war was 
scattered over a wide region and the Americans gained victories here and 
there. Commodore Macdonough had gained a complete success over the 
whole British fleet on Lake Champlain and at Plattsburgh. Macomb's Ameri- 
can troops gained a great victory at the same time. The British sailor found 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 435 

his match on the ocean in his Anglo-American kinsman. Both sides were 
becoming weary of a devastating w^ar and already there were negotiations for 
peace. A treaty was signed in December, 18 14, and sent to America, but 
before it had arrived or was known one of the most remarkable battles of 
history had been fought and won. This deserves record and we will here 
give a short account of it. 

THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. 

If there had been a submarine telegraph in 181 5 the battle of New Or- 
leans would never have been fought, and much English blood would have 
been saved. The treaty was signed December 24th, 18 14, and it was seven 
weeks before the news came to the southern portions of America. New 
Orleans was then a town of twenty thousand inhabitants, and, as now, the 
centre of a large cotton trade. The English Commander, General Packen- 
ham, saw that it was an important point and decided ':o attack it. He had 
the best English troops, fresh from their victories in Europe. Andrew Jack- 
son, then a Major-General in the army, arrived at New Orleans December 2d, 
and, declaring martial law, soon restored confidence. He fortified the city, 
and when the British squadron, bearing twelve thousand soldiers, made their 
appearance he was ready to give them a good reception. On the 23d of 
December he met the advance guard of the army, twenty-four hundred strong, 
and routed them at a place about nine miles below the city, and then he re- 
tired to a stronger position. He built a line of breastworks of earth to 
defend New Orleans, and awaited the attack that was made January 8th, 
181 5. These defenses were four miles from the city, and guarded the ad- 
vance. General Packenham advanced with his entire army, numbering twelve 
thousand, under the best military discipline in the world. Jackson had less 
than six thousand men and the most of them were militia, bu^. all had become 
good rrarksmen in the western woods. All was silent as the grave while the 
British advanced in solid column to carry the works. " Trust in God and 
keep your powder dry," had been Jackson's policy in the swamps of Florida, 
and now his men put it in practice. Steadily the attacking army advanced 
and not a shot was fired until they were half a gun-shot distant, and then a 
terrific fire, every shot of which did good execution, burst upon the assailants. 
The British column wavered ; their general was killed, and they fled in con- 
fusion leavin"- seven hundred dead and more than a thousand wounded on 



436 OUR NATION: 

the field. The fugitives hastened to their camp and ten days after sailed 
from the coast of Louisiana. This battle saved the whole South from inva- 
sion and rapine, which would have followed before the news of peace was 
received. 

Thus the war closed, and both countries could point with pride to the 
heroic courage that had been displayed on land and sea, and deck their brave 
defenders with the medals of honor. The president issued his proclamation 
that peace was declared, February i8th, 1815, and the people united in cele- 
brating the return of quiet all over the country. Business had become pros- 
trated, the ships were lying idly at the docks and industry was at a stand-still. 
The echoes of the shouts of rejoicing had not died on the air before the ring 
of the woodman's axe was heard in the forest of the settler, and the sound of 
the carpenter in the deserted shipyard. Commerce revived and industry lifted 
its head. The Americans had the wonderful power of rapid recuperation 
from disaster. 

The treaty was not all that America could ask, but she had asserted her 
claim and maintained her rights. Never afterward was a sailor taken from 
an American ship as an English deserter; sailors' rights were maintained, 
and the flag of the United States respected as never before. The Americans 
had lost thirty thousand men, and one hundred millions of treasure, Vv'hile 
England had suffered much more heavily. 

During Mr. Madison's term and after the peace with England, the 
Algerine pirates, thinking that the power of the United States on the sea had 
been broken, began their depredations again and were violating their treaty. 
Commodore Decatur was sent to punish them and forever put a stop to their 
infamous traffic. He bombarded Tripoli and the other capitals of the several 
Barbary States which were subject to Turkey, brought their rulers to terms 
and compelled each State to re-imburse the United States for the losses 
caused to American shipping, and to free all the American and English slaves 
held by them. This put an end to the infamy for all time. 

The only events worthy of notice during the remainder of this Presiden- 
tial term, were the admission of Indiana into the Union December, 18 16, and 
the chartering of a United States Bank with a capital of thirty-five million 
dollars. 

The new election rcsultLHJ in the choice of James ^lonroe as President 
and Daniel D. Tompkins as Vice President. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 437 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES MONROE. 

The fifth President of the American RepubHc, James Monroe, had been 
the Secretary of State under his predecessor. His administration was distin- 
guished by the rapid growth in material wealth and population, and the expan- 
sion of all the resources of the Republic. The manufactories of the United 
States, which had been kept busy during the war, suffered from the influx of 
foreign goods, and were obliged to contract their work. This compelled many 
who had been engaged in them to seek new homes in the fertile lands beyond 
the Alleghanies and Ohio, and a steady and uninterrupted flood of emigration 
flowed in from the seaboard. New States and Territories were formed and 
the natural resources of the country were being developed at a most rapid 
rate. Mississippi was admitted into the Union December loth, 1817; Illinois 
December 3d, 1818; Alabama December 14th, 1819; Maine March 3d, 1820; 
Missouri March 2d, 1821. The buccaneering pirates that infested the Gulf of 
Mexico were surprised and put down. Florida was bought of Spain for seven 
million dollars by a treaty signed at Washington, February, 18 19. It was an 
era of general prosperity and growth. But the continued presence of slavery 
was a menace to the Union, and in 1821 the measure known as the Missouri 
Compromise was approved by Congress, and Missouri was admitted as a slave 
State. The temporary excitement abated, and the re-election of Mr. Monroe 
and his associates was the most formal and quiet affair ever known in Ameri- 
can politics. His administration had made itself popular by two measures 
which had been passed. The first was the pensioning of all the surviving 
soldiers of the Revolution, their dependent widows and orphans; and the 
second, the settlement of the boundary line from the Lake of the Woods to 
the Rocky Mountains. 

The visit of Lafayette, the friend and companion of Washington, to this 
country, in which he was the nation's guest and received ovations in every 
town and city through which he passed, occurred in 1824-5. He was every- 
where greeted with the wildest enthusiasm and met men who had served 
under him in the war. He saw the wonderful improvement on all sides, and 
towns, countries, streets and public institutions on every hand had been called 
after him. When he was ready to return, the government placed at his 
service a vessel, named after the battle in which he first fought in the Revolu- 
tion — the Brandywine. 



438 OUR NATION: 

LAFAYETTE. 

THE FRIEND OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND AMERICAN FREEDOM! 

The Marquis de Lafayette was born in 1757, and was one of the most 
extraordinary and influential men of his time. He was, in the fullest sense, 
a member of the French aristocracy, and a gentleman of fortune. His pre- 
cocity may be inferred from the fact, that at the age of fourteen he displayed 
marked literary ability, and wrote with great fluency. When but sixteen he 
married ; and three years afterward, moved by a love of liberty, on hearing 
of the struggle in which the American Colonies were engaged, he resolved to 
leave wife, home and kindred, and draw his sword on the side of the op- 
pressed. Here was a sacrifice at the shrine of human freedom ! — Young, 
noble, wealthy, the friend of princes, and the beloved of an adored and beau- 
tiful wife, he separated himself from all, and the advantages pertaining to his 
rank, to share the dangers and the fate of the brave handful of half-starved, 
half-naked patriots, who dared to stand up for the right in the face of one of 
the most powerful nations in the world. 

His freedom of action in this relation, however, was embarrassed, inas- 
much as the king, who objected to his leaving France, ordered his arrest so 
as to prevent his carrying out his noble project. But here the French mon- 
arch was powerless, for the object of this persecution, having fitted out a ship 
at his own expense, escaped to it in disguise after untold privations, and after 
having once been recognized by a young girl who found him asleep on some 
straw, but who never once thought of betraying him. 

He had heard of the loss of New York and New Jersey to the Ameri- 
cans, but this only served to increase his desire to hasten to the relief of the 
latter. And so, although pursued by two French cruisers, and menaced by 
the English men of war on the coast, he escaped all dangers and landed safely 
on the shores of South Carolina. Here everything was novel and delightful 
to him, as he observed in a letter to his wife shortly after his arrival, and he 
soon met Washington, at Philadelphia, for whom he formed an instant and 
abiding friendship, so impressed was he with the true nobility and command- 
ing virtues of that great and mighty man. 

When Lafayette first saw the poorly armed, ragged and half- fed forces 
of America in line before him at Philadelphia, nothing could exceed his sur- 
prise. But with a penetration beyond his years. He perceived in this stern, 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 439 

self-sacrificing and dogged army, all the elements of future success; and this 
convijction often seemed to impart strength and hope to any whose spirits 
tended to droop beneath the weight of the reverses and great privations that 
pressed upon them. Washington also soon began to discover the true metal 
in the young Frenchman of nineteen, whose sword invariably leaped from its 
sheath at the word of command. Hence, when but twenty, he was made a 
Major-General. 

Lafayette's sufferings in our cause were severe, and his labors very great. 
He was wounded at Brandywine, and lay for six weeks at Bethlehem, whence, 
although scarcely able to move, he wrote letters constantly to France implor- 
ing its statesmen to attack England in India and the West Indies. Before his 
wounds were healed he rejoined the army. He performed in winter a journey 
on horseback of four hundred miles to Albany; he commanded at Rhode 
Island; fought like a lion, and bore all the hardships and privations of war. 
After this he was seized with a violent fever, and seen>ed for weeks at the 
point of death. On his recovery he set sail from Boston for his native land in 
1780. 

On returning to France, Lafayette was received with open arms by all 
the young nobles of liberal views, while the King pardoned him and sent him 
back to America with a promise of ships, money, clothes and men. Once 
again he rejoined Washington, who gave him his unbounded confidence. He 
was sent to Virginia, where he commanded with skill and bravery against 
Cornwallis, and with his illustrious chief planned the campaign which resulted 
in the taking of Yorktown and the close of a long and painful war. 

After the surrender of Cornwallis, Lafayette returned to France once 
more, when the Revolution there, prompted by the ideas and the success of 
the Americans, began to move in ever-increasing strength. He was now the 
favorite of the people, and was all powerful in the land, but in his path crept 
the Marats, Dantons and Robespierres of the hour, while the armies of Europe 
were gathered, ready to crush his republican projects. He was overpowered 
by French radicals and constrained to fly from France and seek shelter on 
foreign soil ; but instead of shelter, in a friendly sense, he found himself im- 
mured within the gloomy walls of Olmutz, where he remained for five years. 
For more than half that period he was cut off from all communication with 
the world; and could not even learn whether his wife and children were still 
alive. At length his wife, who had barely escaped from the guillotine, joined 
him with her two daughters, and shared his imprisonment — their son hav- 



440 OUR NATION: 

ing been sent to America to the care of Washington. Nor was it until the 
armies of France, under Napoleon, began to shake Europe that they were 
released. 

Lafa}'ette now became a leader in every movement pertaining to the ad- 
vancement of liberal government. He cultivated a large farm at La Grange, 
near Paris. On hearing of the death of Washington he wept bitterly ; and in 
1824-25, after an absence of forty years, he again visited America, this time 
with his son. His reception was magnificent beyond measure — the gratitude 
of a generous nation was exhibited everywhere. He visited once more many 
of the old historic places, and met many of his comrades in arms, with such 
intense emotion that it would be almost profanation to attempt to put it in 
words. On his return to France he still stood firm in the principles he had 
espoused and fought for; but the time of his departure was drawing nigh ; for 
he breathed his last, in hope and in peace, at La Grange, in 1834, leaving 
behind him a character for all that was noble, self-sacrificing, courageous and 
just. His chateau at this place has been the shrine of many an American 
pilgrim, and it is still filled with reminiscences of the land he loved and aided 
so well. He left one son, George Washington, and two daughters. Edmund 
Lafayette, who visited America in 1881, is the son of that son, and the last of 
his name, 

ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

The election of 1824 resulted in no choice by the people, and for the 
second time the election of President was referred to the House of Repre- 
sentatives. They elected John Quincy Adams, the second son of Ex-President 
Adams, to be President. John C. Calhoun had been elected Vice-President 
by the people. This administration was a quiet one and undisturbed by any 
very serious controversy. The -trouble between the State of Georgia and the 
general government growing out of the claims of the latter, for the land of 
the Creek Indians, and their removal, was peaceably adjusted. The National 
Government took the position of defenders of the Indians, and quietly re- 
moved them to their reservation in a territory set apart for them. 

A gigantic work of internal improvement for the times was undertaken 
and finished in the State of New York — the building of the Erie Canal. 

A remarkable coincidence occurred in the year 1826. John Adams and 
Thomas Jefferson, who had both been Vice Presidents and Presidents of the 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 441 

United States, and signers of the Declaration of Independence, died on the 
4th of July. 

The fiftieth anniversary of American Independence, July 4th, 1826, was 
made a jubilee through the entire Union. The celebrations were of the most 
patriotic nature, and reference was made in orations and addresses to the 
material expansion of the Republic. Better occasion for a jubilee the world 
had never known. The point to pause and look back had come. The rapid 
growth of the nation Avas unparalleled in the history of the world. The thir- 
teen States had become twenty-four, and the area of the country nearly 
doubled. Its domain stretched from the Atlantic on the east to the Pacific 
on the west. Its right was undisputed from the lakes on the north to the 
gulf on the south. Two wars had been fought and won. The debt incurred 
in the first war had been paid and the second war debt was fast disappear- 
ing. Prosperity was on every hand. Canals provided an avenue for the rich 
grain lands of the West to the seaboard by the way of the lakes and the 
Hudson. A steady tide of emigration westward had opened up this bound- 
less region to civilization, and the foreign trade of the country had swollen to 
two hundred millions per year. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JACKSON. 

The hero of New Orleans was the seventh President of the United States, 
and John C. Calhoun was elected Vice President. His election was by a large 
majority. His inauguration was marked by incidents of peculiar interest. 
He came to the Senate Chamber escorted by a few survivors of the Revolu- 
tionary War, and in the presence of the heads of departments and the Houses 
of Congress he addressed them. Then he retired to the eastern portico of 
the Capitol and there took the oath of of^ce. Andrew Jackson was a man of 
strong passions, uncorrupt heart, and an iron will. His instructions to the 
first Minister whom he sent to England is a type of the man — "Ask nothing 
but what is right, submit to nothing that is wrong." His audacity annoyed 
his friends and alarmed his foes. There were not any middle-men. His 
friends loved and admired him; his opponents hated and feared him. He 
caused an impassable gulf between himself and his enemies which no charity 
could bridge over. He ruled with an iron hand, and was the firm opponent 
of disunion and the United States Bank. The first thing which came up at 
the beginning of his administration was the settlement of the Georgia ques- 



442 OUR NATION: 

tion with the Cherokccs. Jackson was in favor of Georgia, but the Supreme 
Court decided in favor of the Indians. 

At last General Winfield Scott was sent to remove them peaceably if he 
could, but forcibly if he must. General Scott by his justice and moderation 
accomplished his task without bloodshed. The Cherokees were far advanced 
in civilization, and had churches, schools and farms, but they were induced 
to move beyond the Mississippi River. 

Jackson was an implacable foe to the National Bank, believing it to be 
an institution fraught with mischievous power. He attacked it in his annual 
messages in 1830 and in 1831. When the officers petitioned for a renewal 
of the charter, and a bill for this purpose had been passed by both Houses 
with a decided majority, he vetoed it, and the charter expired by limitation 
in 1836. A commercial panic was threatened and business was injured. 

An Indian war on the northwestern frontier broke out in 1S32, known as 
the Black Hawk War, but was quickly subdued. A more portentous war 
cloud overhung the South. The cotton-growing States were opposed to a 
protective tariff which favored the North, and South Carolina declared, by 
law, that the national tariff laws were null and void within that State, and 
proclaimed the usual threats, that any attempt to enforce those laws in 
Charleston, would be met by opposition and the withdrawal of the State, from 
the Union. Preparations were made for war, and it seemed as if civil strife 
was at hand. Jackson issued his famous proclamation Avhich denied the 
right of any State to nullify the laws of the United States, and declared that 
the laws should be enforced, and any one obstructing them would be guilty 
of treason and punished. This declaration and a modification of the tariff 
laws deferred Civil War for about thirty years. 

The contest of the President with the United States bank was renewed 
in 1833. The public funds were removed from it and placed in State banks. 
The amount of paper discounted by the bank was contracted, and much 
financial trouble arose. Jackson's fear of the power of the banks was 
prompted by much foresight and wisdom, though the immediate result of 
his course was disastrous to the commercial interests of the country. Then 
came the fearful business panic of 1 833-34, in which hundreds of business 
men went down, never to rise. 

There arose serious difficulty in 1835 with the Indians in Florida. The 
United States had set apart a territory west of the Mississippi for the use of 
all the Southern Indians east of that river, and Congress had provided for 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 443 

their removal to that territory. Wc have seen that there was trouble with 
the Creeks and Cherokees in Georgia upon this question, and now the Semi- 
nole tribe were in open war in reference to the same matter. Osceola, a brave 
but crafty chief, had gathered his tribe to fight the white people and contest 
the right to his land. We cannot see how he could do otherwise than defend 
the graves of his fathers and the homes of his children. The story of the 
Indians' wrongs and sufferings is a dark one on the pages of our history. In 
the Spring of 1836 General Winfield Scott, being in command in the South, 
prosecuted the war with great vigor. So did other commanders after him. 
A war lasting seven years and costing millions of treasure and thousands of 
lives was entailed upon the country and the incoming administration. Jack- 
son's administration was marked with vigor and decision. He had compelled 
France to fulfill her promise to pay an indemnity of five million dollars in 
annual instalments for the losses sustained to American commerce by the 
decrees and orders of Napoleon, 

A great excitement was engendered by the last official act of President 
Jackson — the issue of the circular to all the custom houses ordering that all 
collectors of revenue be required to collect duties only in gold and silver. 
This specie circular was denounced as arbitrary and tyrannical, as it bore 
heavily on every kind of business. Congress passed a law for its repeal, but 
the President kept it without signing until after the final adjournment of 
Congress. Jackson did this to prevent speculation and for what he consid- 
ered wise reasons, but it caused a bitter feeling against him. Arkansas and 
Michigan were added to the Union during Jackson's term of ofifice. 

THE ADMINISTRATION OF MARTIN VAN BUREN. 

The inauguration of Van Buren, the eighth President of the United States, 
seemed to mark the dawn of a new era in its history. The Presidents prior 
to him had all been descendants of the English, but Martin Van Buren was a 
descendant of an old Dutch family and was born after the first conflict for 
Independence. When he was inaugurated he found the country on the verge 
of a disastrous commercial panic which swept all over the land. The imme- 
diate measures for the relief of the panic of 1833-34 were only temporary. 
The funds taken from the United States Bank and lodged in State banks 
were loaned tp the people, and for a little time the relief was felt in business 
circles, but this only sowed the seeds of a commercial disorder which would 



444 OUR NATION: 

brino- its fearful harvest in the future. The banks, thinking these funds might 
be regarded as so much capital, loaned money freely and a sudden expansion 
of the paper currency was the result. 

In January, 1837, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized by Con- 
gress to distribute all the funds of the United States among the several States 
in proportion to population, reserving five million dollars. Consequently the 
funds were withdrawn from the banks January ist, 1837, and an immense 
financial pressure was the immediate result. On May loth the banks sus- 
pended specie payments, and a panic ensued which prostrated all kinds of 
business. An extra session of Congress was called to consider measures of 
relief, September, 1837. They authorized the issue of treasury notes to the 
amount of ten million dollars. 

A disturbance broke out in Canada in 1837 which threatened to involve 
the United States. An attempt was made to make that province an inde- 
pendent State. The laws of neutrality were violated by those in the States 
who sympathized with the movement. A secret organization known as 
Hunters Lodges was formed. The British government held the United States 
responsible for this breach of neutrality, and a war cloud overhung the northern 
border for nearly four years. The next Presidential election resulted in the 
elevation of the Whig candidate, William H. Harrison, the hero of Tippe- 
canoe, to the Presidency and John Tyler to the Vice Presidency. The cam- 
paign had been spirited and intense. The battle cry of this party had been 
" Tippecanoe and T)'ler too." Personal abuse and vituperation united to 
make the canvass scandalous and offensive. 

ADMINISTRATION OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 

General William H. Harrison was an old man when inaugurated, 
and had passed through many hardships in wars, in the West, but he was 
vigorous and active with the prospect of a number of years of life. His in- 
augural address was well received and his cabinet chosen was confirmed. The 
only official act he performed was to call an extra session of Congress to 
meet in May to confer upon the financial condition of the country and its 
revenue. He died just one month after taking the oath of office — April 4th, 
1841, and the Vice President, John Tyler, succeeded to that position. 

Mr. Tyler retained the cabinet of General Harrison until after the extra 
session of Congress which had been called. At this session measures for the 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 445 

relief of the commercial troubles of the country were adopted. The sub- 
treasury act was repealed and a bankrupt law was passed. The chartering of 
a Bank of the United States was defeated by the veto of the President, who, 
like Jackson, saw great danger in the system. This led to a violent censure 
of the Executive by his own party, and to the resignation of his Cabinet. 

In 1842 the return of the United States Exploring Expedition from the 
South Atlantic Ocean; the settlement of the boundary line on the northeast 
frontier of Maine; the re-modifying of the tariff and the domestic difficulties 
in Rhode Island, were events of great interest. A tariff for revenue only was 
adopted. The boundary line of Maine was fixed by the Webster-Ashburton 
treaty, giving the United States jurisdiction over a large part of the disputed 
territory. Rhode Island had some difficulty in forming a State Constitution 
which divided the citizens into two parties, the " suffrage " and the " law and 
order" party. The threatened rupture caused the governor to invoke the 
aid of the general government, and the administration favored the " law and 
order " party, which resulted in the adoption of a constitution in November, 
1842. The old charter from England had been in force up to this time, but 
the new constitution, more in accord with the system of government in the 
other States, went into effect on the first Tuesday in May, 1843. 

Texas was an independent State and was seeking admission to the Union, 
but on account of the introduction of slavery into its constitution there was 
strong opposition to it in the North. A treaty for its admission was signed 
April 1 2th, 1844, but was rejected by the Senate. The subject then came up 
in the form of a joint resolution which passed both Houses of Congress in 
March ist, 1845, ^^i^ was signed by Mr. Tyler. This question had entered 
into the election of 1844, when James K. Polk, one of the candidates for 
President of the United States, who was pledged to the measure, was elected 
by a decided majority. The last official act of Mr. Tyler was to sign the bills 
for the admission of Florida and Iowa into the family of States, March 
3rd, 1845. 

ADMINISTRATION OF POLK, AND MEXICAN WAR. 

The absorbing matters which demanded the immediate attention of the 
new administration was the annexation of Texas, and the settlement of the 
northwest boundary on the northern line of Oregon. President Tyler had 
sent a messenger to the Texan government informing them of the action of 
■Congress, and a convention was called to accept the measure. They adopted 



446 OUR NATION: 

a State Constitution July 4th, 1845, and the " Lone Star State " was added to 
the American Union. The other question received immediate attention. A 
vast territory between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, had been 
in dispute between England and the United States. In 1818 they had agreed 
to occupy the bays, harbors and rivers in common. This was renewed in 
1827 for an indefinite period, with the promise that either government might 
rescind on giving a year's notice to the other. The United States gave such 
notice in 1846. The United States and Great Britain each claimed the whole 
territory to 54 degrees and 40 minutes north latitude, and the cry .vas " 54-40 
or fight," but at last a peaceful settlement was agreed upon on the 49th par- 
allel of north latitude. 

The annexation of Texas, as had been predicted, caused a rupture be- 
tween the United States and Mexico. The latter government still claimed 
the right to Texas, although it had been acknowledged to be an independent 
State by the United States, England, France and other governments. The 
Mexican Minister at Washington demanded his passports, and on June 4th, 
1845, the President of Mexico issued his proclamation, declaring his intention 
to appeal to arms. The United States had also other questions to settle with 
that Republic, growing out of its treatment of United States' citizens. An 
American army was sent to the extreme southeastern confines of Texas, and 
erected a fortification within easy range of the city of Matamoras. General 
Zachary Taylor was sent by the President to take command of the forces 
there. "An army of occupation " was organized and soon entered the terri- 
tory of Mexico. The first blood was shed at Fort Brown, on the Rio Grande 
opposite Matamoras, which the Mexicans cannonaded and attacked with a 
superior force. The Commander, Major Brown, was mortally wounded, and 
a signal was given for General Taylor to advance to the Rio Grande. He 
met and overcame an army of six thousand Mexicans under Arista, at Palo 
Alto, and hastened toward Fort Brown. The next day he overtook and con- 
quered a strongly fortified army at a place called Resaca de la Palma. A 
number of prisoners were taken and the army of Northern Mexico was com- 
pletely broken up. These two battles were fought on the 7th and the 9th of 
May. 

When the news of this first bloodshed reached New Orleans the whole 
country was aroused. Congress had declared, " by the act of the Republic of 
Mexico a state of war exists between the United States and that govern- 
ment." It authorized the Executive to raise an army of fifty thousand vol- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 447 

unteers, and appropriated ten million dollars toward defraying the expenses 
of the war. The war with Mexico was a series of victories for the United 
States. The Mexicans were driven out of Matamoras May i8th. Monterey 
was besieged September 21st, and surrendered September 24th. An armis- 
tice was then observed until November 13th. Saltillo, the capital of Coha- 
huila, was captured November 15th. Santa Anna, the Mexican General, sur- 
rendered Tampico the day before, November 14th. All these victories were 
gained by General Taylor, who had been in command ; but now there came 
a severe trial of his patriotism and patience. General Winfield Scott, who 
was his superior in rank, was sent to take command in Mexico, and General 
Taylor was left with a command of only five hundred regulars and five thou- 
sand volunteers, On February 22d, the anniversary of the birth of Washing- 
ton, the little band of General Taylor was attacked by twenty thousand 
Mexicans under Santa Anna, who, after a severe battle, were repulsed by the 
Americans. 

While these victories were being gained in Central Mexico, " The Army 
of the West " was sent, under command of General Kearney, to Northern 
Mexico. This army took possession of Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, 
August i8th. Here Kearney received information that the conquest of Cali- 
fornia had already been achieved by Commodore Stockton and Lieutenant 
Colonel Fremont, who had aroused the resident Americans on the Pacific coast 
and captured Sonoma Pass, June 15th, 1846, and driven all the Mexicans out of 
that region July 5th. On the 7th Monterey had been bombarded and cap- 
tured. The Commodore and Lieutenant-Colonel had entered San Francisco 
on the 9th. The city of Los Angelos had surrendered on the 17th, and Fre- 
mont had been the true liberator of the whole Pacific coast. General Kearney 
on receiving this information pushed on his forces, and met Commodore 
Stockton, and Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont (December 27th, 1846); and with 
them shared the final honors which completed the conquest of California. 
Fremont wanted to be governor of the territory he had conquered, and his 
claims were favored by Commodore Stockton and all the people, but General 
Kearney, his superior in rank, refused to allow it. Fremont would not obey 
him but issued a proclamation as governor. He was called home to be tried 
for disobedience of orders. His commission was taken from him, but the 
President offered to return it the next day. Fremont refused to accept it, 
and turned again to the wilderness to engage in exploration. 

While General Kearney was gone to California, Colonel Doniphan, with 



448 OUR NATION: 

•one thousand Missouri volunteers, forced the Navajo Indians to sign a treaty 
*of peace, November, 1846, and then led his troops southward to join General 
Wool. He met and overcame a large force of Mexicans at Braciti, in the 
valley of the Rio del Norte, on December 22d, The Mexican General sent 
word to him, " We will neither ask nor give quarter." With a black flag the 
Mexicans advanced, and the Missourians fell on their faces. The Mexicans, 
thinking them all killed, rushed forward to plunder them, but the whole force 
.-sprang to their feet and fired with such deadly effect as to disperse the Mexi- 
cans with great slaughter. Colonel Doniphan met another force of Mexicans, 
four thousand strong, February 28th, 1847, ^^^ completely routed them. He 
raised the American flag over Chihuahua, a city of forty thousand inhabitants, 
March 2nd, and after resting six weeks marched to Saltillo, and turned over 
his command to General Wool. He had made a perilous march of five thou- 
sand miles, from the Mississippi, won two great battles, and then returned to 
New Orleans. All Northern Mexico and California were now in possession 
of the Americans, and General Winfield Scott was on his way to the city of 
Mexico. 

General Scott landed before Vera Cruz with an army of thirteen thou- 
■sand men on March 9th, 1847. The squadron was in command of Commodore 
Connor. The city was invested March 13th, and held out until the 27th, when 
the Americans took possession of Vera Cruz, and captured five thousand 
prisoners and five hundred guns. Ten days after this, General Scott com- 
jmenced his march inland, .and on the i8th of April he fought and won the 
battle of Cerro Gordo, at the foot of the Cordilleras. More than a thousand 
Mexicans were killed and three thousand taken prisoners. The latter Scott 
■dismissed on parole, which they at once violated. The victorious army en- 
tered the city of Jalapa on the i8th, and on the 22nd of April, General Worth 
unfurled the Stars and Stripes on the summit of the Cordilleras, fifty miles 
.beyond the city of Jalapa. But the victorious army did not halt here. They 
inarched forward, and on the 15th of May, 1847, took possession of the well- 
i'ortified city of Puebla, containing eighty thousand inhabitants. Here the}' 
halted to rest for a while. In the short space of two months an army of ten 
thousand men had captured a larger number of prisoners than the army itself, 
taken possession of the strongest posts on the continent, and were waiting 
for the order " on to Mexico." In August, after being reinforced by fresh 
troops, Scott resumed his triiwriphal march to new victories. August 20th, 
ihe camp of six thousand Mexicans at Contreras was defeated by an Ameri- 



I 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 449 

can detachment under General Smith. Cherubusco was taken at the same 
time by General Scott. An army thirty thousand strong, in the heart of its- 
own country, had been broken up by one less than a third of that number. The 
American army were at the very gates of the city of Mexico and might have 
entered in triumph, but General Scott held out the olive branch of peace and 
would have spared the Mexicans that disgrace. A flag of truce from Santa 
Anna came asking for an armistice, which was granted. Mr. Nicholas P. 
Trist, a commissioner of peace, appointed by the United States, was sent to 
the city to treat with Santa Anna, but returned with the information that he 
had not only rejected the offer with scorn, but was violating the armistice by 
strengthening his defenses. 

General Scott began his demonstration against the city, September 8th„ 
when a body of less than four thousand troops attacked a superior force at 
El Molinos del Rey, near Chapultepec, and at first suffered the only repulse 
of the war, but afterwards rallied and drove the Mexicans before them. On 
the morning of the 13th of September, the flag of the United States was un- 
furled over the ruined castle of Chapultepec, and Santa Anna was fleeing, a 
fugitive, with his shattered army and the officers of government. September 
14th, the army of the United States entered the city of Mexico in triumph,, 
and planted the Stars and Stripes over the National Palace. Order was soon 
restored in that ancient capital, and when a provisional government could be 
formed, peace was declared. Mexico gave up California, Arizona and New 
Mexico, and conceded all the claims of the United States. Mexico was 
evacuated by the American army, and twelve million dollars were paid by the 
United States to Mexico in four annual instalments. The United States also' 
assumed the debts due to private citizens to the amount of three millions. 

This treaty was signed on February 2d, 1848. The very next month gold 
was discovered in large quantities in California, and President Polk in his. 
annual message, in December, 1848, published the fact to the world. The- 
gold fever broke out all over the States, and spread to other countries; and 
during the whole year of 1849 ^ constant stream of emigration flowing across. 
the plains and around Cape Horn, went to this Eldorado of the West to find 
the wealth which the early Spanish and French adventurers had sought in 
vain. Thousands came from Europe and South America, and ship-loads of 
Chinese came from Asia. The dreams of the v^oyagers in the fifteenth century 
seemed to be realized in the nineteenth. Emigrants continued to flock thither,, 
and yet (1888) the supply is not exhausted. 



450 OUR NATION: 

The popularity which General Taylor had acquired in the Mexican war 
by his victories and his patriotism, led to his nomination and election to the 
Presidency, with Millard Fillmore as Vice President. 

Two domestic measures during the administration of James K. Polk had 
been very popular. The establishment of a national treasury system, and a 
protective tariff. Wisconsin was admitted to the Union, May 29th, 1848, 
making thirty States in all. At this point we will stop for a while to review a 
dark episode in American history. 



THE PERIOD OF AGITATION. 



We have brought our readers down the line of events to the time the 
twelfth President was about to take his seat of office. We have seen the 
continent relieved from the sway of its savage and barbarous inhabitants and 
settled with an active, energetic population of freemen who had acquired 
their independence; subdued the wilderness; developed its resources; spread 
their white-winged commerce on every sea; explored their own territory and 
made discoveries in other parts of the world; driven the pirates from their 
own borders and humbled the pirates in the Mediterranean ; compelled the 
respect due to their flag from other nations, and established their widest 
boundaries by peaceful diplomacy or glorious war. They had grown from 
thirteen States to thirty and their domain now stretched in one broad belt 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the lakes to the gulf, with no nation 
to challenge their right. They were prosperous at home and respected abroad. 
The industry, intelligence and enterprise of our citizens are unparalleled, 
and their inventions, discoveries and mechanical arts are astonishing the 
inhabitants of the old world. The inventors and discoverers of the United 
States have revolutionized the commerce, the manufactures and the travel of 
the past. The steamboat, the electric telegraph, the cotton gin and the in- 
ventions in every department of trade have startled the inhabitants of Europe 
from their dream of centuries. But in spite of the growth in material 
strength, in national domain and wealth, there was for a long period a dark 
blot upon the country, and the agitation and strife which it was continually 
•causing, gave reasons for constant alarm to our wisest and best statesrnen. 
How to deal with this subject was a serious question to the moralist, the 
patriot and the philanthropist. That question was the presence of American 
slavery and its insatiate demand for more territory. 

To go back to the beginning: England had forced the African slave trade 
upon the unwilling colonists, and her parliament had watched with fostering 
care this hideous traffic. In the first half of the eighteenth century there 



452 OUR NATION: 

was constant legislation in its favor, and every restraint upon its largest 
development was removed with solicitous regard. Twenty negro slaves were 
sold to the planters of Virginia in the same year when the pilgrims landed at 
Plymouth (1620), and these were the first brought into the present domain of 
the United States of America. In December, 1671, Sir John Yeamans, Gover- 
nor of South Carolina, brought two hundred black slaves with him from the 
West Indies. Tn 1641, the blacks were recognized in law as slaves by Massa- 
chusetts. In Connecticut and Rhode Island in 1650; in New York in 1656; 
in Maryland in 1663, and in New Jersey in 1665. There were some slaves in 
Pennsylvania and Delaware about 1690. In North and South Carolina, they 
were introduced at the time of settlement. In Georgia the use of slaves was 
prohibited by law, but the planters evaded the law by hiring servants for one 
hundred years, paying their owners in the other colonies the value of such 
slaves. In New Hampshire the slaves came with the settlers from Massa- 
chusetts. So we see that slavery could be found, under the sanction of law, 
in every one of the original thirteen States, at the opening of the eighteenth 
century. The British government seemed determined to encourage the 
importation of slaves into the West Indies and the American Colonies by 
every means in its power. The Colonies sought to check the increase by 
imposing a tax on slaves brought into them, but Parliament compelled its 
repeal. A hundred acres of land in the West Indies was given to every 
planter who would keep four slaves. Forts were built and manned on the 
African coast to protect the men who were engaged in this trafific. The 
most humiliating chapter in the history of England was in regard to this sub- 
ject. As late as the year 1749, the English Parliament passed an act bestow- 
ing still greater encouragement upon the traffic, in which it was stated : " The 
slave-trade is very advantageous to Great Britain." 

The moral sense of New England was opposed to slavery, and very early 
the idea became prevalent there that it was unscriptural to hold a baptized 
person in slavery. They did not however liberate their slaves, but often 
withheld religious instruction from them. The magnates of the church and 
the officers of the crown endeavored to put them right on this question, and 
the Colonial Assemblies passed laws to reassure the people that it was right 
to hold Christians in slavery. 

Before the Revolution three hundred thousand slaves had been brought 
into the Colonies from Africa, and at that time there were half a million slaves 
scattered over the country. These were in every Colony, although there were 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 453 

but thirty thousand in the North. The children of the Puritans owned 
Indians, and in due time came to hold Africans, but the soil was hard and 
sterile and required that the tiller should be a person of thought and intelli- 
gence. All kinds of labor demanded brain as well as physical force, and for 
this reason slave labor in the North was never remunerative, and gradually 
the slave population steadily diminished. The moral sentiment as well as 
the condition of the soil and climate of the North was opposed to the whole 
system of involuntary servitude. 

There were different conditions in the fertile and sunny South, The 
climate was congenial to the African and the soil was productive to the 
extreme of luxuriance. The crops were such as the unskilled labor of the 
slave could produce with profit to his master — tobacco, cotton and rice. The 
land in the South was divided into large plantations and the cities were 
mostly engaged in the export of the staple products of the soil. Yet for all 
this, at the time of the Revolution there was a very wide-spread opposition to 
the institution of slavery. The free spirit which influenced the patriots was 
antagonistic to the whole idea of human bondage. The leaders of the conflict 
were many of them slaveholders, but they regarded the institution as odious 
and wrong. Washington provided in his will for the freedom of his slaves. 
Hamilton and Jay were members of a society which aimed at the gradual 
abolition of the whole system. John Adams was deadly opposed to it. Patrick 
Henry, Franklin, Madison and Monroe, were outspoken against it. Jefferson, 
who wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, himself a 
Virginian, said " I tremble for my country when I remember that God is 
just." When the convention that met to frame the Constitution assembled 
in Philadelphia, the feeling was strong against slavery, and had the majority 
followed their own conviction of right, a provision would have been incor- 
porated for its gradual and final extinction. But the desire to frame a docu- 
ment that would be acceptable to all the States led to a tender treatment of 
the subject, and finally to one of those compromises which have marked the 
whole course of legislation upon the subject for more than eighty years, and 
in time resulted in the most destructive internal war which has ever come to 
any nation. It was proposed to prohibit the importation of slaves at once, 
and all the Northern and most of the Southern members were in favor of it. 
But the delegates of South Carolina and Georgia threatened to withdraw 
from the convention if this was done; and instead, it was provided that the 
traffic should cease at the expiration of twenty years, or at the close of 1807. 



454 OUR NATION: 

Using the same threat of disunion, the slaveholder of the extreme South 
"■ained other concessions of great importance. First, that if a person escaped 
from a slave State to a free State that circumstance did not make him free; 
and second that in the apportionment for representatives to Congress the pop- 
ulation of white citizens should be enumerated, and to this should be added 
three-fifths of all other persons excluding Indians not taxed. While the 
words slave and slavery are not to be found in the Constitution, by these 
concessions to the slaveholders the institution was intrenched within the 
organic law of the land. So the first and most important victory was gained 
for the abettors of the evil. 

Even in the South there was a strong public sentiment against the 
system. Slave owners acknowledged its evils and freely discussed it. The 
pulpit preached against it, and men prophesied its extinction. The meanest 
black might hope that the time \vould come when the words of the Declara- 
tion of Independence would apply to him. 

The purchase of the vast domain of Louisiana from France opened up a 
mighty region to the profitable cultivation of sugar cane and cotton by slave 
labor. The growth of cotton was becoming a matter of great importance. 
The invention of the spinning jenny by Richard Arkwright in England, in 
1768, followed by the introduction of steam power by James Watts, had 
created an extensive demand for cotton, which Great Britain could only find 
in sufTficient quantity and proper quality in the Southern States of the American 
Union. Eli Whitney, a New England farmer's son, was a born mechanic. In 
1792, he was on a visit to the home of Mrs. General Greene, in the State of 
Georgia, and heard of the trouble which surrounded the cotton planters in 
separating the fibers of the cotton from the seed, and the wish that some device 
should be invented to overcome this. Young Whitney set his inventive genius 
at work to construct a machine for this purpose, and after much study, many 
improvements, and oft-repeated failures, finally invented the cotton gin. The 
planters of Georgia saw in the rudely constructed machine exhibited to them 
in the back room of Mrs. Greene's residence, the possibility of untold wealth 
for them, and heeded it as a sign of their deliverance from this trouble. The 
cotton gin made the growing of cotton vastly more remunerative than ever 
before. But the South treated the brain work of the eminent mechanic with 
great injustice. The secret of the inventor was stolen and used in making 
machines without remunerating him. The inventor of the instrument which 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 455 

gave the cotton-growing States their supremacy in the markets of the world, 
and brought a constant flow of wealth to their doors, died a poor man. 

To return from this digression : 

Ten years after Whitney's cotton gin had been invented, Louisana was 
added to the United States, and there was a great demand for slaves. The 
northern tier of slave States began to grow slaves for the southern market. 

The interstate slave trade became pecuniarily profitable to both sections 
of the groups of slave States, and public sentiment on the subject of the 
wrongfulness of slavery became materially modified. 

The new generation that came upon the field of active life saw only the 
remains of the old order of things, and found the slave system almost univer- 
sally approved as an economic instrument and only mildly condemned by a 
few as contrary to Christian ethics. They accepted the situation as a matter 
of course. It was their heritage, and their right as guaranteed to them by 
law. 

The new generation found in their midst an inferior class of human 
iDcings, intellectually, a vast majority of whom appeared to be content with 
their lot, and, as a rule, were happy. They were dependent ; devoid of care ; 
docile; obedient; easily won to the embraces of Christianity as presented to 
them; and many good men and women saw in the corresponding relations 
■of the two races which circumstances had created, a field for the exercise of 
widespread benevolence. They persuaded themselves that the slave system 
•was a civilizing and Christianizing force, providentially designed to place the 
Negro upon a higher plane of intelligence and surround him with more ele- 
vating influences than he could ever have obtained in his native land. Such 
sentiments were widely promulgated by the Pulpit and the Press, the most 
puissant utterers of doctrines and principles, religious and political. 

The change in the sentiments of the clergy, in the slave States, during 
the twenty-five years preceding the Civil War was most remarkable. We 
will notice only two or three instances in a single religious body — the Presby- 
terians. In 1835, representatives of that denomination in South Carolina and 
Georgia, in convention assembled, made an of^cial report against the perpe- 
tration of the system of Slavery. 

"We cannot go into detail," they said : "it is unnecessary. We make 
our appeal to universal experience. We are chained to a putrid carcass. It 
sickens and destroys us. We have a millstone about the neck of our Society 



456 OUR NATION: 

to sink us deep in the Sea of Vice. Our children are corrupted from their 
infancy, nor can we prevent it," etc. 

In November, i860, an eminent Doctor of Divinity in the Presbyterian 
Church said, in his pulpit in New Orleans, after speaking of the character of 
the South : — " The particular trust assigned to such a people becomes a pledge 
of Divine protection, and their fidelity to it determines the fate by which it is 
finally overtaken. What that trust is must be ascertained from the necessities 
of their positions, the institutions which are the outgrowth of their principles, 
and the conflicts through which they preserve their identity and independence. 
If, then, the South is such a people, what, at this juncture, is the providential 
trust ? I answer, that it is to conserve and to perpetuate the institution of do- 
mestic slavery as nozv existing.'' 

Ten or fifteen years before the Civil War, an eminent Doctor of Di- 
vinity in Charleston, S. C, in a pamphlet, referred to the Declaration of 
Independence as the product of Presbyterians and as of almost Divine 
origin. In November, i860, he said, in his pulpit, that he "found in the in- 
fidel, atheistic, French Revolution, Red Republican principle, embodied as 
an axiomatic principle in the Declaration of Independence," the root of all 
our evils. 

The President of a Theological Seminary, at Columbia, S. C, asserted his 
convictions that the African slave-trade was " the most worthy of all mis- 
sionary Societies." 

Happily, the logic of events has relegated such sentiments to the shadowy 
realms of the past, and the " New South " is working out its noble destiny on 
a higher plane of action. We have alluded to these things only to illustrate 
the changeful phases of public opinion during the period of agitation which 
we are considering. 

When the State of Louisiana was admitted into the Union, in 181 2, the 
vast northern part of the purchase from France was without white inhabitants. 
This region was rich in natural resources. Iron, copper and coal enough to 
supply the earth lay beneath its surface. Large rivers flowed in natural 
highways to the seas. The climate was genial and mild. Gradually settlers 
came flocking thither. The slave-holder with his bond-servants was the first 
in the field, and the free settler turned aside to the northwest, from which 
slavery had been excluded by the act of the Continental Congress. So Mis- 
souri became a slave State. In 1818, there were sixty thousand persons in 
the Territory of Missouri, and she vias knocking at the doors of Congress for 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 457 

admission. The slave States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Missis- 
sippi, had been admitted before this without any controversy, but now the 
slave power was becoming too aggressive and reaching far to the north. The 
first great contest between the North and the South was fought oyer this 
question. For more than two years the conflict waged, and after a desperate 
fight in the Halls of Congress and before the people, resulted in the Com- 
promise measure. There had been heated debates which had agitated the 
whole country from Maine to Louisiana. The compromise was, that slavery 
should be allowed in all States south of 36 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude, 
and excluded from all States and territories north of that latitude. This 
conflict ended with a decided victory for the slave power. The cotton gin, 
the admission of Louisiana, and the teaching of events, all had their effect 
in making the South a unit, and the slave power very strong in the nation. 
The institution required more territory for its expansion ; and this policy 
never changed. The agitation which had begun would rage over the country 
for fifty years, and find its solution only when the institution lay in ruins at 
the end of a gigantic struggle inaugurated to uphold it by an attempted dis- 
solution of the Union. Indeed this Avas the threat all through the contro- 
versy that had led to the compromises which were always in favor of the slave 
power. 

The active hostility of the North against slavery began to grow in the 
time of John Ouincy Adams (1825 — 1829). General Andrew Jackson was 
President from 1829 to 1837, ^"<^ during a part of the same time, John C. 
Calhoun was Vice President. This question was the overshadowing one for 
that period. The South found a faithful ally in a certain class at the North. 
People in the Free States participated in gains from the slave system in tl;-e 
South. The planter borrowed money in the North, and sold his cotton to 
the Northern manufacturer, and Northern ships were engaged in the cotton 
conveying trade. They were coining money out of the peculiar institution 
and had no scruples of conscience about it. There was a wide-spread opinion 
that the slave of the South was in better condition than the poorly paid 
laborer of Europe; and that was all that could be asked. It was claimed 
that cotton could not be grown without slave labor. And thus the institu- 
tion, intrenched in the constitution, became united in the South, and had its 
friends in the North. There seemed no hope for Iriie poor black now, and 
the South began to exercise absolute political domination in the National 
Legislature. But there was an influence at work in the free States, at first 



458 OUR NATION: 

weak and insignificant, but like the leaven hidden in the three measures of 
meal, affecting the whole mass. 

On the first day of January, 1831, there appeared in Boston the first 
number of a paper, called the "Emancipator," published by a journeyman 
printer, William Lloyd Garrison. It was devoted to the furtherance of the 
abolition of slavery. It was an insignificant opening for a noble enterprise,. 
which found its consummation in the necessity of a civil war that threatened 
the very existence of the Republic. But every word spoken or written upon 
the subject found some willing hearer or ready reader, and gradually the in- 
fluence reached the pulpit, the political caucus, and the Halls of Congress. 
An abolition society was formed, at first composed of twelve members. In 
three years there were two hundred such organized, and in seven years in- 
creased to over two thousand anti-slavery societies. The contest began in 
earnest. The conflict was long and fiercely waged. 

The question of the tariff had its northern and southern side ; and when 
the nullifiers of South Carolina, in 1832, resisted the government, it was in the 
interest of their cherished institution. 

There is another side to the topic of the annexation of Texas to the Union 
than the one we have presented. Texas was a large, uninhabited tract on 
the southwest border of the country, and the South looked upon it as a de- 
sirable region for the spread of the slavery system. The climate was genial 
and the soil rich. It was of uncertain ownership, but it was recognized as 
belonging to Mexico. Under a grant of territory to a citizen of Missouri,, 
by the Spanish authorities in 1820, citizens of the slave States flocked into 
Texas; and when, in 1833, there were 20,000 Americans there, a revolutionary 
movement for achieving the independence of Texas began under the leader- 
ship, chiefly, of Samuel Houston, of Virginia. Mexican troops under Santa 
Anna invaded Texas, and were defeated in battle, by Houston with a Texan 
force. The Mexicans were driven from the country; the independence of 
Texas was achieved in 1836, and it was speedily acknowledged by the United 
States, Great Britain, France and other nations. 

The grateful Texans made Houston President of the Republic which he 
had thus saved. 

Mexico still claimed the territory. A warm debate arose in Congress, 
and the first proposal from Texas to enter the Union was rejected. The 
conflict became bitter. If Texas was admitted she would come as a slave 
State; on this ground the North opposed it, and the South favored it. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 459 

Daniel Webster said, " We all see that Texas will be a slave-holding State^ 
and I frankly avow my unwillingness to do anything which shall extend the 
slavery of the African race on this continent, or add another slave-holding 
State to the Union." The Legislature of Mississippi said in resolutions on 
the subject, " The South does not possess a blessing with which the affections 
of her people are so closely entwined, and whose value is more highly appre- 
ciated. By the annexation of Texas, an equipoise of influence in the Halls 
of Congress will be secured which will furnish us a permanent guarantee of 
protection." Such was the plain statement of the question from both sides.. 
The matter went to the people and resulted in a victory for the South. Texas 
was admitted, two votes for slavery were gained in the Senate, and unlimited 
room for the expansion of the ancient institution. But the victory cost a war 
with a sister Republic, in which might was arrayed against right, and the 
United States won the questionable glory of conquering a weaker power and 
dismembering her territory to a vast extent. In this Mexican war we find 
the names of many men who won their first military honors in the " country 
under the sun," and afterwards took a conspicuous place in history. Ulysses. 
S. Grant and Robert E. Lee took part in this war; but never met face to face 
until many years afterwards, when they had a conference under an historic 
apple tree, near Appomatox Court-House in Virginia, to arrange for the sur- 
render of a brave but conquered army. General Franklin Pierce, and General 
Zachary Taylor were also in the war with Mexico, and became Presidents of 
the United States. There was a strong opposition to this war, and in the 
North dominant public opinion was instantly aroused in regard to the de- 
mands of the arrogant slave power. 

Thus far in the conflict of agitation and argument the South had gained 
at every move, and in their pride of success they considered themselves safe 
to demand that their institution should be considered a national one. But 
there came other agencies into the field, and the very war which had been 
waged in Mexico became, under Providence, the means of checking their 
supremacy and putting an end to the acquirement of any more slave States. 
Of the original thirteen States, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and Georgia, were slave-holding. Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, 
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas had been added 
to their number. But now there was to be a halt, and the voice of Providence 
seemed to say " Thus far shalt thou go and no further, and here shall thy 
proud waves be stayed." The discovery of gold, and the rapid increase of 



46o OUR NATION: 

population in California, made up of men who came to carve out their for- 
tunes, was unfavorable to the introduction of slavery, and the people framed 
a State Constitution and asked and obtained its admission as a free State. 
This was a grievous disappointment to the slave States which had been so 
enthusiastic in pressing on the Mexican war, for the sake of gaining the con- 
trol of new States, more votes in the United States Senate, and a large area 
for the spread of slavery. The people from the North had flocked to the 
Pacific Coast and quickly decided the fate of the first State formed on that 
coast. 

But we will now resume the line of general history at the end of Mr. 
Polk's administration. General Zachary Taylor, who had been conspicuous 
for his bravery and patriotism in the war with Mexico was elected to the 
Presidency by a large majority, as we have said. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ZACHARY TAYLOR. 

The twelfth President of the United States was inaugurated March 5th, 
134^ — the 4th being Sunday — and from the start had the sympathies and best 
wishes of a large majority of the people. The administration of the newly in- 
augurated incumbent promised to be one of unusual happiness and prosperity. 

The Constitution framed by the people of California at Monterey was 
adopted by the convention on the first day of September, 1849. The birth 
and formation of a crude State had been so sudden as to surprise the coun- 
try, having been only twenty months from the time of the discovery of gold. 
Edward Gilbert and G. H. Wright were sent as delegates to Congress and 
John C. Fremont and William M. Gwin were elected Senators, and appeared 
at Washington with the State Constitution in their hands, and presented a 
petition asking to be received as a free and independent State. Then there 
came a severe struggle in the two Houses of Congress over the anti-slavery 
clause, and the excitement ran high all over the country. The old and oft- 
repeated threat of disunion was raised, and again another compromise was 
effected. Henry Clay appeared as a peacemaker and implored the people to 
make any sacrifice but honor to preserve the Union. Daniel Webster warmly 
seconded the efforts of Mr. Clay and the compromise measure was passed 
September 9th, 1850. This is known as the " Omnibus Bill," and provided 
" for the admission of California as a free State; second, the formation of the 
territory of Utah ; third, the formation of the territory of New Mexico, and 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 461 

ten million dollars be paid to Texas for her claim on this territory; fourth, 
the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia; fifth, the fugitive slave 
law." This last measure was extremely unpopular in the North. Its pro- 
visions were excessively obnoxious to the whole non slave-holding States, 
and raised a storm of opposition, evasion and violation, which led to serious 
disturbances and much bitter strife. In the midst of this excitement the 
President died, and was succeeded by the Vice President, Millard Fillmore, 
July 9th, 1850. 

In tlie brief administration of General Taylor, there had been a number 
■of important events which affected the issues of the impending Civil War. 
One of these was the invasion of Cuba by General Lopez, a native of that 
island, who had come to the United States and raised, organized and equipped 
a force in violation of the neutrality laws. He landed in Cuba the 19th of 
April, 1850, expecting to find the Cubans ready to rise and make a strike for 
freedom from Spain. But in this he was disappointed, and returned to the 
States to raise a larger force. Of this we shall speak further on. The other 
event was the establishment of Mormonism in the region called Utah, a large 
tract of country midway between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean. The 
Mormons composed a religious sect who had accepted the delusion of Joseph 
Smith, in 1827, and had emigrated from the State of Illinois. They came 
.across the plains and founded their settlement, after many hardships and 
trials, in a land among the mountains in mid continent which they called 
Deseret. They were fanatical in their notions, and had adopted a system of 
-marriage which was antagonistic to the religious and moral sentiment of the 
whole country. They recognized the right and held to the practice of 
polygamy, or a plurality of wives. They spread their doctrines by means of 
missionaries over all parts of the world and converts came in large numbers 
to Utah. They have long had suf^cient population to form a State, but up 
to this writing — 1888 — have been kept out of the Union on account of their 
peculiar institution of polygamy. 

ADMINISTRATION OF MILLARD FILLMORE. 

The compromise measure adopted, as we have seen, was the first move- 
ment of importance during his term of ofifice. The cabinet of General Taylor 
resigned at the time of his death, but the incoming President retained them in 
ofifice, and zealously carried out the policy which had been inaugurated by his 
predecessor. 



462 OUR NATION: 

The Fugitive Slave Law was supported by ths Executive power, and oc- 
casioned wide-spread dissatisfaction all over the non-slave-holding States. 
Before this time, while the slave-owner could claim, and recapture his so- 
called property when found, he could not demand the aid of northern ofificials 
or citizens in aiding him in the search ; but this law authorized him to employ 
the representatives of the general government in the search and delivery of 
his fugitive slaves, and any citizens could be called upon to assist in this, when 
a United States Marshal demanded it. This was at utter variance with the 
spirit of free institutions in the North, and the people of that section, and a 
large number of the South, were in favor of its repeal. This led to a fearful 
struggle on the part of both sides to carry their points, and the final result 
was most disastrous to the nation for a time. 

In the spring of 1851 there were enacted the most salutary changes in 
the Post Ofifice laws, and a great reduction in rates of postage. The electric 
telegraph had been perfected, and thousands of miles of wire were binding 
together cities, countries and States. Thus instantaneous communication 
could be held between distant points. Fulton and Morse, by their discoveries, 
had annihilated time and space, and bound the distant States into a more 
solid union than had ever been known before. 

In the summer of 185 1, there was increased excitement over the proposed 
invasion of Cuba a second time under General Lopez. The watchfulness of 
the government was awakened, and the United States' marshals were ordered 
to arrest any persons suspected of violating the neutrality laws. The steamer 
Cleopatra was detained in New York harbor, and several respectable citizens 
were arrested for complicity in the matter. General Lopez made his escape 
from the authorities, with four hundred and eighty men, and landed on the 
northern coast of Cuba, August nth. He left Colonel N. L. Crittenden, of 
Kentucky, with one hundred men at that point, and went into the interior 
with the rest. Crittenden with his party was captured, taken to Havana, and 
shot on the i6th. Lopez was attacked on the 13th, and his band dispersed. 
He had been deceived in finding any of the natives ready to aid him. There 
were no indications of any uprising and he was a fugitive. He, with six of 
his men, was arrested on the 28th, and on September ist, 1851, they were 
all executed. 

In the Fall of 185 1, there was more accession of territory for the United 
States. Many millions of acres of land were purchased of the Sioux Indians 
and they were removed to the reservation appointed for them. The territory 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 463 

of Minnesota was organized, and emigration soon filled it with a white popula- 
tion. The number of Representatives and Senators in Congress had increased 
so much since the war of 1812, that it now became necessary to enlarge the 
Capitol building in Washington, and the corner-stone was laid for a new wing 
July 4th, 185 1, by the President, with appropriate ceremonies. 

The expedition of Elisha Kent Kane, M. D., a surgeon in the United 
States Navy, started for the Arctic Ocean, in 1853, and resulted in many 
scientific discoveries w^hich settled the fact of an open Polar Sea, but the 
object of the search, to find Sir John Franklin, was not accomplished. 

The visit of Louis Kossuth, an Hungarian patriot to this country during 
Mr. Fillmore's term of office, was an occasion of much interest in awakening 
the sympathies of the people for his oppressed country, but the government 
did not give him the material aid he sought. 

There was much ill feeling engendered between the United States and 
England, growing out of the Newfoundland fishery question ; but it was set- 
tled in October, 1853, without any rupture. 

An event of great commercial interest occurred in the same year in the 
distant East. Commodore Perry, — a brother of the hero of Lake Erie, — 
made a treaty with the Government of Japan, in which it was agreed that 
part of that Empire should be opened to American commerce; that the 
steamers from California to China should be furnished with coal, and that 
American sailors shipwrecked on the coast of Japan, should be hospitably 
treated by the natives. 

The relations between the United States and Spain became involved in 
unpleasantness, growing out of the Cuban matters, and for a time war was 
threatened. There was a feeling in Europe that the United States wanted 
Cuba, to hold command of the entire Gulf of Mexico. England and France, 
asked that the United States should enter into a treaty with them which 
should secure Cuba to Spain, and disavow, " now and forever hereafter, all 
intention to obtain possession of the Island of Cuba." Edward Everett, 
Secretary of State, answered this demand in a logical, and unanswerable argu- 
ment, which was praised for its power and patriotism, and the subject was 
dropped. 

The most important event at the close of President Fillmore's term was 
the organization of the Territory of Washington, from the northern half of 
Oregon. This became a law on March 2d, 1853, two days before the newly 
elected President, General Franklin Pierce, took his seat. William R, King, 



464 OUR NATION: 

of Alabama, had been elected Vice President, but failing health prevented 
him from entering upon the office. 



ADMINISTRATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 

The day on which Mr. Pierce was inaugurated, March 4th, 1853, there 
was a bitter storm of sleet and rain, the most severe ever known in Washing- 
ton, and seemed to augur a tempestuous administration. So it proved in the 
sequel. The first serious difficulty that arose was in regard to the boundary 
line between Mexico and the United States, and for a time war seemed in- 
evitable. The Mexican army occupied the disputed territory: but the matter 
was amicably settled by peaceful negotiation, and friendly relations between 
the two republics have existed ever since. 

In the early part of this administration a large exploring expedition was 
sent to the Pacific coast of Asia, which was of great importance in view of 
the establishment of numerous steamship lines between the ports of Asia and 
the United States. The question of connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific 
coasts with railways, was agitated in connection with this subject. Four ex- 
plorations were sent out by the government to survey as many routes: one 
from the head waters of the Mississippi to Puget Sound; one from the same 
river to the Pacific along the thirty-sixth parallel of latitude; one by way of 
the Great Salt Lake to San Francisco, — which line was completed in 1869; 
the fourth from the lower Mississippi to Southern California. The explora- 
tions were made, and a vast amount of scientific, geographical and natural in- 
formation was gained. 

A world's fair of Industry and Mechanical Arts was opened in New York, 
in the spring of 1853 and modelled after a similar one held in Hyde Park, 
London, England, in 185 1. This gave great encouragement to the manufac- 
turers and the mechanical arts in America, and showed the nations of Europe 
what strides the young republic was making in the march of improvement. 

The lull which precedes a fierce storm had fallen upon the country at the 
time Congress met, in December, 1853. There was an unprecedented calm 
in the political world, and the quiet of a settled peace rested upon the coun- 
try, rippled only by a wave of trouble with Austria, which was soon smoothed. 

Important treaties with Mexico and the Central American States were in 
progress of settlement in regard to various inter-oceanic communications by 
railway or water. In the distant Pacific there was a kingdom whose inhab- 



J 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 465 

itants had become civilized, Christianized, and established in a civil govern- 
ment, with a wide extent of commerce in a single generation, namely, the 
Sandwich Islands. The king and his people desired to unite with the Ameri- 
can States, and took steps to bring that about. France and England at once 
were jealous, and charged the whole scheme upon the American missionaries. 
The United States Minister and the missionaries denied that they had influ- 
enced the natives. The American government denied the right of foreign 
governments to interfere, and a treaty for the annexation of the Sandwich 
Islands was in preparation when King Kamehameha died, and his successor 
discontinued negotiations. These were revived in 1866, by Queen Emma, 
when she returned from her visit to England. 

The slavery question which had been so quiet for a few years, suddenly 
presented itself .just as Congress was sitting down to work on the important 
matters of commerce and internal improvement. Stephen Douglass, United 
States Senator from Illinois, introduced a 'bill which aroused the people to 
the most intense excitement, and broke in upon the harmony of Congress. 
Near the centre of our continent there was a vast domain embracing one- 
fourth of all the public land of the country. It extended from the thirty- 
seventh parallel of north latitude to the British possessions, and was the most 
fertile and best watered portion of America. The bill of Mr. Douglass pro- 
vided that this domain should be organized into two territories — Kansas and 
Nebraska — and contained a provision to repeal the Compromise of 1820, and 
allow the people to decide whether or not slavery should be permitted. The 
thunder storm broke over the country in renewed fury, and violent discussion 
arose in the North and South. The bill was discussed in the Senate from 
January 30th to March 3d, 1854, and thousands of remonstrances poured in 
from all parts of the North, but it passed the Senate by the decided vote of 
thirty-seven to fourteen. In the House of Representatives it was shorn of 
its worst features by amendments, and the final defeat seemed almost certain. 
A bill for the construction of a railroad to the Pacific was reported to the 
Senate. A Homestead Act, giving one hundred and sixty acres of land from 
the public domain to any white male citizen who would occupy and improve 
the same for five years, was introduced in the House of Representatives. An 
amendment graduating the price of land was passed in its stead. Anothef 
victory for slavery. But the excitement quieted down till the 9th of May, 
when the Nebraska bill was called up again. At once the public pulse ran 
up to fever heat. The debate was fierce and intense; the suspense of the 



466 OUR NATION: 

people was fearful, but on the 22d of May the bill as amended passed the 
House, was rushed through the Senate, and signed by the President the last 
of May. Every barrier to the lawful spread of slavery over the public domain 
was now removed ; but the end was not yet. 

Another chapter in the controversy concerning Slavery opens at once. 
Spain had a cause of grievance with the United States in regard to Cuba. 
The American steamship Black Warrior was seized in the port of Havana 
by the Cuban authorities. The Spanish government justified the act when 
the American Minister at Madrid asked for redress. But the Cubans became 
alarmed and offered to give up the ship by the owners paying a fine of six 
thousand dollars. The owners complied under protest. The matter was 
amicably adjusted between Spain and the United States. The slave power 
used the irritation caused by this incident as a pretext for a gigantic scheme 
of propagating slavery. 

In 1854 President Pierce appointed James Buchanan, then ambassador at 
London, James M. Mason, ambassador at Paris, and Mr. Soule, ambassador 
at Madrid, as a commission to confer about the difficulties in Cuba, and to 
get possession of that island by purchase or otherwise. The famous Ostend 
Circular was issued by them, on the i8th of August, 1854, in which they said, 
" If Spain, actuated by pride and stubborn sense of honor, should refuse to 
sell Cuba to the United States," then, " by every law, human and divine, we 
shall be justified in wresting it from Spain, if we possess the power." This is 
the argument of the highway robber, and why it should not have been rebuked 
at Washington can only be understood in the light of future events. In the 
light of these events, we learn that the stupendous design -embraced the plot 
of " the Golden Circle," which was to establish an empire with Havana as its 
centre, embracing an area of sixteen degrees of latitude and longitude, to 
take in the slave States, the West Indies, and a great part of Mexico and 
the Central American States. 

We find a little relief in turning from this subject for a moment to others. 

The boundary line between Mexico and the United States was established 
upon satisfactory terms, as we have already stated. The United States was 
to pay ten millions of dollars, and be released from all obligation imposed in 
the former treaty of 1848 — seven millions on the ratification of the treaty and 
three millions when the line should be established. These conditions were 
faithfully carried out. 

An important reciprocity treaty was made with Great Britain, which was 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 467 

of great advantage to both parties, and removed to a considerable extent the 
restrictions on free trade between the United States and Canada. The two 
governments agreed to the introduction of many articles, such as breadstuffs, 
coal, fash, and lumber, from one to the other, free of duty. England gave 
the United States the free use of the St. Lawrence, and the canals of the 
provinces, and in return enjoyed the right of fishing, as far as the thirty-sixth 
degree of north latitude, and other privileges. This treaty continued until 
1866. 

The attempt on the island of Cuba had failed ; but there was started at 
once an expedition to Central America to get possession of a portion of the 
Golden Circle. This was organized by a warm personal friend of Jefferson 
Davis, Secretary of War, under the administration of Mr. Pierce. His name 
was William Walker. He invaded the State of Nicaragua, on what is known 
as the Mosquito Coast, under the pretext that the British were attempting to 
take this coast, in violation of the principle of the " Monroe doctrine." Many 
persons had emigrated hither from the Southwestern States. The guns of 
the United States Navy had already awakened the echoes of the tropical 
forests. The Mosquito King had sold a large tract of land to two British 
subjects, and emigrants, led by Colonel H. L. Kinney, had settled there. The 
attention of our Minister to the State of Nicaragua had been called to this 
matter, and our government could not wholly ignore the subject, but dealt 
with it so mildly as to leave the inference that the emigrants would not be 
molested by the United States. Captain William Walker went to the aid of 
Colonel Kinney, and with his band attempted to capture the city of Rivas, 
but his attack was repulsed, and he escaped to the coast. 

Walker returned, with armed followers, in August, 1855, ^^'^^ i^'i Septem- 
ber the emigrants assumed the independence of Nicaragua. Walker, after 
gaining some victories, placed General Rivas in the Presidential chair of the 
independent "State of Mosquito," and drove Colonel Kinney away. He 
strengthened his military power, and was recognized by a British consul. 
The other States of Central America became frightened at this display of 
audacity, and combined to drive Walker out of his position. Costa Rica 
formally declared war against this new power. Walker raised a strong band, 
and shamelessly proclaimed that he was there by invitation of the liberal party 
of Nicaragua. The army of Costa Rica came to attack him, and he overcame 
them. Walker then became arrogant, forced a loan from the people, and 
after Rivas had abdicated the presidency, Walker was elected President, by 



468 OUR NATION: 

two-thirds of the popular votes. He was inaugurated June 24th, and our 
government hastened to recognize the new nation. It was the opening chap- 
ter in the grand plot. He held his position for two years, and finally was 
obliged to surrender his army of two hundred men, and flee to New Orleans. 
He attempted to raise another expedition, and on the 25th of November 
landed at Puntas Arenas, where he was captured by Commodore Paulding, of 
the United States Navy, and with two hundred and thirty-two men was taken 
to New York. President Buchanan privately commended Commodore Paul- 
ing for the act, but for " prudential reasons " publicly censured him in a special 
message to Congress, January 7th, 1858. Walker was discharged, and 
preached a new crusade against Nicaragua all through the Southern States, 
collecting money to aid him in a new invasion. He sailed from New Orleans, 
on a third expedition, but was arrested, and tried before the United States 
Court, for " leaving port without a clearance," but was acquitted. Then he 
went to Central America, recommenced hostilities, was taken, and shot at 
Truxillo by the natives. Thus ended another act in the civil strife which was 
raging. 

In 1855, there was serious trouble with the Indians in Oregon and Wash- 
ington Territories, and the United States Army was sent to quell it. The 
barbarians overcame them, and a massacre of white families followed. In the 
season of 185 5-6, it seemed that the combination of Indians was so strong 
that the settlers would have to abandon the territories named, but General 
Wool was sent to Oregon to organize a force against the savages, and the 
trouble was settled the following Summer. 

A slight trouble arose between Great Britain and our government, grow- 
ing out of the enlistment of men in the United States for the Crimean war. 
This was done under the sanction of several British consuls in this country. 
After some diplomatic correspondence the offending consuls were dismissed ; 
also the British minister was sent home and his place was filled by another. 
The British Parliament disavowed any complicity in the matter. 

The remaining events in the administration of Franklin Pierce were full 
of incidents having immediate reference to the great struggle going on in the 
country between the advocates of the spread of slavery and the advocates of 
free soil. The contest was most intense and bitter in Congress, and in the 
political canvass. Silently there were unseen and complicated moral forces 
at work, but none the less potent because unseen. A great party sprung into 
existence in the North, and f(iund many adherents in the South. John C. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 469 

Fremont of California, and William L. Dayton, were the candidates of this 
party for President and Vice President. This wa;s the Republican party. 
Another organization throughout the country known as the Arr.erican or 
Know-Nothing party, who were opposed to the foreign element in the national 
politics, nominated Ex-President Fillmore and A. J. Donelson of Tennessee, 
for the same ofifices. The Democratic party put James Buchanan and John 
C. Breckenridge, in nomination for the same. The political canvass of 1856' 
was the most exciting and antagonistic that the country had ever seen. The 
press, the pulpit and the rostrum rang with the utterances of men who were 
alive to the questions of the hour. In every hamlet and village of the North, 
and most of the South, the party lines were distinctly drawn, and families 
and neighborhoods were stirred with the agitation of the all-absorbing subject. 
The day of the election came and the whole country waited in breathless, 
anxiety for the returns. The election of James Buchanan for President, and 
John C. Breckenridge for Vice President, was the result. 

THE STRUGGLE IN KANSAS. 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

The virtual repeal of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 led to a renewal 
of the contest between the two contending forces, and Kansas became the- 
battle-ground of the decided champions on the two sides. The people from 
the North began to pour into the new territory and it became apparent that 
they would largely outnumber the settlers from the slave States. People of 
the South were the first in the field and took possession of land in all parts. 
Missouri was near at hand and Kansas was easy of access, but the Southern 
people were not an emigrating class and their numbers came slowly. There 
were people enough to form a State, in time, but the Northern settlers could 
outvote the Southern. The time for election was coming and some decisive 
steps must be taken. Large bodies of Missourians went in 1854, and when a 
delegate was chosen from the Territory, out of nearly twenty-nine hundred 
votes cast over seventeen hundred were by Missourians who had no legal right 
to vote there. These men from " over the border " were in tents and had 
artillery with them as if arrayed for battle. A legislature was illegally chosen 
to meet at Pawnee City, nearly one hundred miles from the Missouri line. 
This body immediately adjourned to meet on the very borders of that State, 
and proceeded to enact laws in favor of slavery. They were vetoed by the 



470 OUR NATION: 

governor and passed over his veto. The actual settlers of the territory ap- 
pointed a convention to tneet at Topeka, October 19th. 

Governor Reeder was nominated for Delegate to Congress, and was at 
once elected by the legal voters. On the 23d of the same month a conven- 
tioi. chosen by the actual citizens of Kansas adopted a Constitution providing 
that it should be a free State and asked admission to the Union under this 
instrument. Governor Reeder and the pro-slavery delegate appeared at 
Washington as contestants for seats. In the meanwhile (January 17th, 1855), 
an election was held and the State ofificers were chosen by the legal voters of 
the Territory. President Pierce (January 24th) sent a special message to 
Congress representing the action of the people in Kansas in forming a State 
government as a rebellion. 

Then there came a reign of terror for Kansas in which violence, blood- 
shed and fraud were rampant. The actual settlers resisted the efforts of their 
pro-slavery neighbors in forcing upon them a condition of things obnoxious 
to their sense of right and justice. The struggle seemed to be like the death 
grapple of giants. Finally a committee of investigation was sent from Con- 
gress, and a majority of them agreed in their report to sustain the acts of the 
legal voters and refuse the frauds by which Whitfield, the pro-slavery delegate, 
had been elected and the pro-slavery constitution passed. The member of 
the Committee from Missouri alone dissented from the report, and the mis- 
sion failed to accomplish any result either way. Then came the election of 
Buchanan as fifteenth President of the United States. 

There had been an important case pending in the United States Supreme 
Court in which a decision had been reached before the election, but it was 
Avithheld from the public until the result of the popular vote should be known. 
It w^as the famous Dred Scott decision. Scott was a slave of a United States 
oflficer who had taken him into a free State, and while there he had married 
the slave girl of another ofificer, both masters giving their consent. Two chil- 
dren had been born of this marriage on free soil. The master of Scott bought 
the wife of his slave, and took the parents and their children to Missouri and 
held them all. Scott claimed his freedom on the ground of his involuntary 
service in a free State and the District Court had given him the case. It 
went to the United States Supreme Court of the State, which reversed the 
decision. Then it came before the Supreme Court upon the question of 
jurisdiction solely. The Chief Justice of that court decided against Scott, 
.and announced that no person " whose ancestors were imported into this 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 471 

country and sold as slaves" had any right to sue in the courts of the United 
States. The majority of the Court agreed with him. After the election was 
decided they published their decision, and went beyond the question at issue 
to say that our Revolutionary fathers " for more than a century before " re- 
garded the African race in America as " so far inferior, that they had no rigJifs 
which the zvhite man zvas bound to respect,'' and they zvere never tho7ight or . 
spoken of except as property. President Buchanan in his inaugural address two 
days before this strange decision had been promulgated, referred to a mys- 
terious something which would settle the slavery question " speedily and 
finally," and expressed the hope that thus the long agitation of this disturbing 
question was approaching its end ! Bnt the end zvas not yet. Kansas was still 
a battle-ground and the contending parties had not given up the struggle. 
Peace was for a while restored, but the two forces were energetic and active. 
The question of a free or a slave State was not yet decided. 

The pro-slavery party had met in convention and framed a constitution 
favorable to their side, at Lecompton, in September, 1857. It was submitted 
to the people in this way: They could vote "For the Constitution with 
slavery" or " For the Constitution without slavery;" in any case they must 
vote for this Constitution, which was " all one way," and that protected 
slavery until 1864. Of course the free-soil men would not vote at all, and the 
pro-slavery Constitution was adopted by a large majority. An election for 
the territorial legislature was held under assurance from Governor Walker 
that the people should not be molested, and although there were many frauds, 
the anti-slavery party had a large majority. The legislature ordered that the 
Lecompton Constitution should be sent to the people to vote "for" or 
''' against " the measure as a whole. It was rejected by over ten thousand 
majority. But in spite of this the President sent the Lecompton Constitution 
to the Senate (February 2d, 1858), by whom it was at once passed. The 
House of Representatives amended the bill by referring it again to the people 
of Kansas for acceptance or rejection. It, was again rejected by over ten 
thousand majority, and finally Kansas was received into the Union as a free 
State. In the year 1862 the opinion of the Supreme Court was practically 
rejected as untenable, by the Secretary of State granting a black citizen a 
passport to travel in foreign countries. Such were some of the skirmishes 
which preceded the war of 1861—65. 

The " Southern Commercial Convention," convened at Vicksburg, voted 
on the nth of May, 1859, that "all laws. State or Federal, prohibiting the 



472 OUR NATION: 

slave trade, ought to be abolished," and a scheme was soon started to promote 
the African slave trade, under the specious disguise of an "African labor- 
supply Association." The withdrawal of American cruisers from the coast 
of Africa, was discussed in the United States Senate by Mr. Slidell, of 
Louisiana, and Mr. Buchanan protested against the right of British men-of- 
• war to search suspected slave-traders who flew the United States flag. Ship- 
loads of slaves were landed in southern ports directly from Africa. The 
northern States had, in many instances, passed personal-liberty laws, restrict- 
ing the Fugitive Slave law so far as they could do without a violation of the 
national law. This exasperated the other party. A National Emancipation 
Society was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, which aimed at the gradual extinction 
of the institution of slavery. 

The attention of the country was turned to the disturbing Mormon ques- 
tion. These people in Utah were rising in a revolution because they could 
not gain admission as a State. They destroyed the records of the United 
States District Court, and by orders of Brigham Young, their governor and 
spiritual guide, they were to look to him for all law. Colonel Cummings, the 
actual governor of the Territory, was sent with an army to enforce the United 
States law. The Mormons destroyed a provision train, committed sundry 
depredations, but finally Young surrendered the seal of the territory, and 
threatened to gather his people and leave the country rather than submit to« 
Gentile rule. But he thought better of it, and in a short time Utah made 
another unsuccessful attempt to enter the Union. 

This little episode made scarcely any impression upon the great excite- 
ment that was agitating the country. The " Mormon War " had ended in 
smoke. The South American troubles were settled. Walker's operations in 
Nicaragua had ceased to interest the public mind, and Congress was engaged 
upon the Homestead Act, the Pacific Railroad bills. Soldiers' Pensions for 
the war of 1812, and other peaceful and unexciting measures, when suddenly 
the smouldering flame of excitement broke out afresh, and startled the whole 
country. JDhn Brown, an honest enthusiast, with a handful of followers as- 
sembled at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and with a written Provisional Constitu- 
tion and Ordinance for the People of the United States, he was ready to 
make opposition to the government as far as slavery was concerned. His 
little band consisted of seventeen white men and five blacks. The whole land 
was informed by telegraph from Baltimore, that " an armed band of Aboli- 
tionists have full possession of the Government Arsenal, at Harper's Ferry."" 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 473 

All the border States were thrown in a ferment of anxiety; their homes, their 
sacred altars, and their institutions were in danger. Governor Wise, of Vir- 
ginia, summoned the State Militia, and General Robert E. Lee, with United 
States troops and cannon, was hastened to the spot to suppress the insurrec- 
tion. Two of Brown's sons were slain, and he was arrested. He was tried 
for exciting the slaves to insurrection, for treason and murder, found guilty, 
and hung on the 2d day of December, 1859. This was the raid of John 
Brown. The excitement and terror of Governor Wise, of Virginia, was very 
great. The most exaggerated rumors concerning the affair spread over the 
whole country, and Governor Wise prepared to repel the invasion which he 
was sure was being organized in the Northern States to sweep over Virginia. 
A thorough investigation developed the fact that Brown had less than twenty 
persons associated with him in his undertaking, and had no open sympathizers 
in the whole land. 

The indications of the election of 1858 and 1859 pointed to a loss of su- 
premacy of the party which had held the national government so long, and 
something must be done to protect their own interests. The designing poli- 
ticians had a gigantic plot in view, and while the great mass of the people in 
the South were a law-abiding people, who would abide by the Constitution 
and the laws of their country if left to their own judgment, these men, com- 
paratively few in number, deliberately set about the scheme of severing the 
Union, and establishing a Confederacy of Slave States in the South. The 
time had come for their action, for the new party were growing strong. If 
they did not strike at the close of Mr. Buchanan's administration, although 
they might succeed in electing a President in sympathy with them, their power 
in Congress would be much weakened. Now if they could give the people 
of the South another cause for their action, and succeed in " firing the Southern 
heart " to the sense of wrong, they would gain a material advantage when the 
blow should be struck. It would not do, then, to have their candidate of the 
Democratic party elected, and the first point was to assure the election of a 
Northern man to "the ofitice of President, by the vote of Northern States. 
How could this be done ? The answer was easy enough. Divide the grand 
old Democratic Party into two factions. Then with the plea that the Repub- 
lican party was a sectional one, and would oppress the South, inflame the 
people of the slave-owning States with the idea that their State institutions 
were in danger, and arouse them to patriotism and an active defense of their 
respective States. 



474 OUR NATION: 

Now the people of the South were brave, her men were conscientious, 
and her so-called upper classes were the peers of any community in intelli- 
gence. The doctrines of Jefferson had been the theme of her orators for two 
generations, and the theory of State Sovereignty had taken root in a rich and 
productive soil, where it had grown to a stalwart tree. The training of years 
had taught the great mass of her people to believe that Slavery was right, or 
if not morally right, was a necessary evil in the very condition of things. The 
North»had agitated, discussed, and stirred up strife when the whole land had 
been prosperous and at peace, and had caused contention and unreasonable 
commotion in their internal affairs. What though the North disavowed any 
intention of interfering with Slavery in the States where it then existed, the 
very agitation of the subject on their borders made them restless and stirred 
up their slaves. The conspiracy of a few score men could magnify all this 
into a grievous wrong, and stir the warm blood of the South to the intensest 
heat, and unite the people in a common cause, as dear to them as that which 
moved the hearts of their Revolutionary sires. 

For months there had been indications that the Democratic convention 
which was to meet in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, would be a 
stormy one, and there were mutterings of the coming tempest, that should 
shake the country to its centre. The gathering of the six hundred delegates, 
from all the States in the Union, began on the 23d of April, i860; and from 
the hour of the opening of the Convention there was the strong pressure of 
the conspiracy felt. Caleb Cushing was chairman, and Stephen A. Douglass, 
of Illinois, was the strongest candidate whose name had been proposed before 
the convention. He had won the title of " Little Giant of the West." His 
idea of popular sovereignty had been engrafted into the platform of the party 
at Cincinnati four years before. The Opposition were in favor of a speedy 
adoption of the institution of Slavery as a national institution, but the friends 
of Douglass were not ready for this. The Convention, by a handsome ma- 
jority, re-afifirmed the doctrine of popular sovereignty, and at once the plot 
was sprung. The leader of the delegation from Alabama announced that he, 
and his colleagues, would formally withdraw from the Convention. Other 
delegates followed, and a new Convention was formed in another Hall. 

The dismemberment of the Democratic Party was now complete, and 
the plot was subsequently unmasked by Mr. Glenn, of Mississippi, who said 
in the new convention, " I tell Southern men here, and for them I tell the 
North, that in less than sixty days, you will find a united South, standing side 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 475 

by side with us." Charleston was the scene of great delight that night, for 
South CaroHna understood what that utterance signified. The result of this 
secession was that John C. Breckenridge was nominated for President by the 
seceding Democratic Party, and Stephen A. Douglass was the candidate of 
the Regular Democratic Party. The Republicans afterwards nominated 
Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, for President, and Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, 
for Vice President. A fourth party. The Constitutional American Party, 
which adopted the Constitution of the United States for its platform, nomi- 
nated John Bell, of Tennessee, for the Presidency and Edward Everett, of 
Massachusetts, for the Vice Presidency. 

The political contest was fought with vigor such as had seldom been 
known before. The Republican and the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic 
party were antagonistically opposed, and William H. Seward had said there 
is "an irrepressible conflict between Freedom and Slavery;" "The Republic 
cannot exist half slave and half free," and " Freedom is the normal condition 
in all the Territories." This was the Republican side of the question. Mr. 
Breckenridge claimed that no power existed that might lawfully control slavery 
in the Territories, and it existed in full force wherever a slave-holder, and his 
slaves, entered it ; therefore it was the duty of the National Government to 
protect it there. The issue was plain and decided ; no one need misunder- 
stand it. Abraham Lincoln was elected by a majority of the votes in the 
electoral college; but since there were four candidates in the field he had a 
large minority of the popular vote. This was a part of the plot, to claim 
that he was a sectional President, and received only a minority of the votes of 
the people. There would be four months in which to mature and carry out 
the plans already working so well. 

Two years before this, William L. Yancey had written to a friend : " Or- 
ganize committees all over the Cotton States; fire the Southern heart; in- 
struct the Southern mind; give courage to each other; and at the proper 
moment, by one organized, concerted action, precipitate the Cotton States 
into revolution." Mr. Yancey had been an active public speaker in the South 
during the canvass of i860, and when the result was known, the leaders in the 
South were as much elated over the election of Lincoln as any one in the 
Republican party. Now the pretext that the platform and the policy of the 
Republican party, and the utterances of the President elect, with the fact that 
he was a sectional candidate, elected by Northern votes, and these a minority 
of all the votes cast, led the people of the South to fear that he would be a 



476 OUR NATION: 

usurper of their rights, and they listened until their righteous indignation was 
stirred, and they were easily led to make one bold and united stand for their 
inalienable rights. In the third year of the war, a Southern gentleman wrote 
in a letter to a friend, " Perhaps there never was a people more bewitched, 
beguiled and befooled, than we were when we went into this rebellion." 

In President Buchanan's Cabinet, there were three, if not four men, in 
active sympathy with the movement, and they were anxious to wait until the 
end of the term before the blow should be struck. There were arsenals, for- 
tresses, custom houses, and other public property in the South. The forts 
and arsenals in the North were stripped of movable military stores, and were 
sent South. The United States Navy was scattered to the four quarters of 
the globe, and most of the ships in commission were beyond the reach of 
speedy recall; others were lying in ordinary in the navy yards under the pre- 
tense of being repaired, but no work was being done upon them. The United 
States Army Officers, in suspected sympathy with the North, were sent to the 
extreme West, and the credit of the government was purposely injured. A 
small loan could not find a market at twelve per cent, interest. This was 
the condition of things. Some wanted to strike the blow as soon as the 
election was over ; others had another plan, which was this, as avowed by a 
disunionist who was in the plot : 

" We intend to take possession of the army and navy and the archives of 
government ; not allow the electoral votes to be counted ; proclaim Buchanan 
Provisional President if he will do as we wish, if not choose another; seize 
Harper's Ferry Arsenal and the Norfolk Navy Yard, and sending armed men 
from the former, and armed vessels from the latter, seize the city of Washing- 
ton and establish a new government." Why was this not done ? Lewis Cass 
was Secretary of State, and he discovered the treason of his associates; but 
being powerless to avert the danger, he resigned. The Attorney General was 
promoted to be Secretary of State, and Edwin M. Stanton was called to be 
Attorney General. Joseph Holt and John A. Dix, who had been called into 
Buchanan's Cabinet, were loyal men, and brought a pressure upon the Presi- 
dent that he could not withstand, and while he did nothing to openly aid the 
plot, he was obliged to make a show of sustaining the National government. 

The first step to open revolt was made by South Carolina. A convention 
of delegates in Charleston, adopted an Ordinance of Secession December 20th, 
i860. This was signed by one hundred and seventy members. A similar 
ordinance was passed by the following States in the order given : Mississippi, 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 477 

January 9th, 1S61 ; Florida, January loth; Alabama, January nth; Georgia, 
January 19; Louisiana, January 26th; Texas, February ist; Virginia, April 
17th; Arkansas, May 6th; North Carolina,' May 20th; Tennessee, June 8th. 

On the fourth of February, 1861, delegates from six of the States above 
named met at Montgomery, Alabama, and formed a league styled The Con- 
federate States of America. A provisional Constitution was adopted, 
and Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, was chosen Provisional President, with 
Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice President. This organization of a 
few conspirators, — since no Ordinance of Secession was ever submitted to 
popular vote, — became a self-styled government, and made war on the United 
States; seized its public property; put a loan upon the markets of the world; 
issued letters of marque and reprisal, and raised armies to overthrow the 
government, while yet the passive friend of the slaveholders was in the presi- 
dential chair at Washington. To increase the difificulties which now beset 
the President, his former Attorney General, J. S. Black, had declared substan- 
tially, that the Executive possessed no constitutional power to use the Army 
and Navy for the preservation of the life of the Republic. 

A Peace Convention was held at Washington in February, 1861, but its 
efforts to effect a compromise were futile. All propositions for compromise 
made in and out of Congress were rejected by the loyal National I'egislature. 
The -poor, distressed President Buchanan had to do his best for the time 
which remained of his term of oilfice. The Southern members of his Cabinet 
holding on to their positions as long as they could be of any service to the 
South, had left their chief to fill their places with Northern men. The first 
overt act of war was performed when Major Robert Anderson, a loyal Ken- 
tuckian, refused to give up Fort Sumter, into which he had retired from a 
weaker fort, Moultrie. 

The General-in-chief of the army was Lieutenant General Scott, who was 
enfeebled in body and mind from age, and although he was loyal he was 
unable long to cope with the mighty problem. He, however, was vigilant and 
took efificient measures to secure the safety of Mr. Lincoln on his arrival after 
his perilous journey through Baltimore, on the 23d of February, 1861. He 
secured peace and quiet in Washington until after the inauguration of the new 
President. 



478 OUR NATION: 

THE CIVIL WAR, 1861-5. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

The sixteenth President of the United States was inducted into his office 
in the midst of bitter enemies on every side, on March 4th, 1861. General 
Scott had arranged the miHtary forces at his disposal in such a way that they 
could be called upon in any exigency that might arise from any suspected 
outbreak in the National Capitol. But all passed off quietly, and the Presi- 
dent took the oath of office, as his predecessors had done, in the open air, at 
the east portico of the Capitol. The Senate confirmed his nominations at once. 

The new administration set itself at work with great zeal to ascertain the 
resources of the government and found what we have already hinted at. The 
public credit was injured, but the now loyal Congress set at work to restore it. 
The Army and Navy were of little use.. Of the former there were only 16,000 
men, and most of them were on the frontiers. Sixteen forts with all their 
equipments were in the hands of the South, and all the arsenals there. The 
value of the public property in the hands of the insurgents was thirty million 
dollars. There were forty-four vessels in commission, and of these only one, 
the Brookl^m, of twenty-five guns, and a storeship were ready for immediate 
service. Many officers of the navy were Southern men and had resigned, 
leaving this branch of service very weak and crippled. 

The first gun fired at Sumter, April 12th, 1861, awoke the slumbering 
nation, which had thought that all this array in the South was for effect. 
Before Major Anderson and his heroic band brought away the flag from 
Sumter, which he evacuated but did not surrender, there was a divided senti- 
ment in the North; some thought that there could be no war and that a 
peaceful solution was still possible; others comprehended the spirit of the 
revolt and were satisfied that the struggle would produce bloodshed. The flag 
was lowered from Sumter on April 14th, and a terrible civil war was at once in- 
augurated. Such an uprising the land had not seen before. Men of all grades of 
society at the north, and every political and religious creed, were ready to spring 
to arms in defense of the Union, at the call of the President two days later. 
Seventy-five thousand men were called for a three months' service, and were 
hurried to the front from all the Northern States. The six slave States, to 
whose governors a requisition for troops was sent, treated the whole subject 
with utter scorn. The crusade was spontaneous; in every town and hamlet 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 479 

and village the Stars and Stripes were displayed, and brave men enlisted with 
alacrity, and marched to the front. Nothing like it had been known since the 
crusades of the Middle Ages to redeem the tomb of the Saviour from the 
Moslem. The Nation was in danger, and the old spirit of the fathers now' 
glowed in the bosoms of their sons. But little did they know what was before- 
them. Three months they thought would suflfice to put down the revolt. 
Three months and they would come home as heroes, and a grateful countrj-^ 
would honor them as the preservers of their nation. They soon found that 
the South was organized for war, and fighting at its own doors on the defen- 
sive. They had mistaken the spirit and temper of the men in arms against 
the government. 

In the South there was also a wide-spread mistake in regard to the North. 
They thought that the Northern people would not fight, and that their friends 
of the pro-slavery party there would make a strong resistance in their favor. 
Within seven days after the attack on Sumter, the South had an army in the 
field ready for battle, and the shout " On to Washington," was as enthusiastic 
as the cry " On to Richmond " was afterwards in the North. The South and 
the North were of the same race, but under the sunny sky the former had 
warmed up to fever heat, and were ready for war at the instant ; the latter^ 
under a colder climate, was longer in being aroused, but when once in thor- 
ough earnest they had entered the strife with the determination to conquer 
or die. These were the two parties in the contest, and now, in dead earnest, 
there could be no cessation in the deadly grapple until one or the other should- 
succumb to superior strength and determination. 

Governor Pickens had said to the people of the cotton-growing States,, 
" Sow your seed in peace for old Virginia will have to bear the brunt of 
battle." So prompt was the uprising of the people in the North that three 
days after the issue of the call for troops several companies of militia arrived: 
in Washington ready for service. The Sixth Regiment of Massachusetts vol- 
unteers were attacked on the streets of Baltimore, and the first blood was 
shed in the war on the 19th of April. Communication by rail and tele- 
graph was severed between that city and Washington, and for several days 
the President and his Cabinet were virtually prisoners in their Capital, but 
General Benjamin F. Butler with Massachusetts men found a way there by- 
water to Annapolis, and partly by rail across Maryland, and relieved the 
anxiety of suspense. Troops of hopeful men began to throng to the Capital, 
but they were none too soon, for an army was being collected in Northern. 



480 . OUR NATION: 

"i^7irginia to march to Washington and take the city. Harper's Ferry Arsenal 
;and the Norfolk Navy Yard had fallen into the hands of the insurgents. 

There was an opinion on both sides that the war would be brief, and the 
South thought that she had only to march on to the Capital of the United 
States, seize, hold it and dictate terms of peace favorable to herself; while 
the North regarded the Southern uprising as a formidable riot that could be 
crushed in ninety days, so little did either party understand the grit and 
persistency of the other. The truth was that six millions of people in the 
South, high spirited, possessing a fertile soil, with a great industry upon which 
the manufactories of England were dependent for a supply, had risen against 
the government after months, if not years, of careful preparation. The 
problem before the loyal States, taken at a fearful disadvantage in the matter 
of preparation, was how to conquer. The new flag of " stars and bars " was 
floating over Alexandria in full view of the National Capital. Preparations 
were being pushed to fortify Arlington Heights from which the Confederates 
could shell the city of Washington. At Manassas Junction a large army were 
encamped only thirty miles away. It would seem to a casual observer that 
'the proper course to pursue would have been to act on the defensive, but the 
North were now fully aroused. They had been deceived by the threats of 
disunion so many times before that it had taken some time for them to realize 
'the fact now, but once awake to its stupendous existence they bent all their 
energies to its suppression. A blockade of all the Southern ports was de- 
'clared, and in a few weeks ships enough were manned to shut every Southern 
port of any considerable size. 

The government had gained much in a short time but there was a general 
cry for some decisive battle. The Secretary of War, at this time more san- 
guine of a short contest than he was a few months later, yielded to the popular 
pressure and ordered the imperfectly disciplined army of citizen soldiers to 
battle. General MacDowell, with an army variously estimated from thirty to 
forty thousand, marched from Arlington Heights and vicinity for Manassas 
Junction, on Sunday, June 17th. The volunteers, not yet inured to hardship, 
Louffered much on this march, and when they reached Bull's Run, which was 
to become famous as the scene of a great battle, they were met by the Con- 
federate army of General Beauregard, when a general engagement took place 
on the 20th, in which the loss was heavy on both sides. The Union army was 
repulsed and fled in a precipitate rout to Washington. The men were 
hurrying in wild confusion from the field of conflict. The defeat had caused 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 481 

a general panic, and baggage trains, artillery, cavalry, infantry, and civilians 
were mixed in a promiscuous mass. The Confederates had won the battle, 
but showed no disposition to follow up the advantage. In fact they had suf- 
fered severely, and in this first general engagement each side was equally 
astonished at the force displayed on the other, and awoke to the consciousness 
of the fact that there was equal determination and bravery in both armies. 
The North were taught that the work of putting down the insurrection was 
a more stupendous task than had been imagined, but their purpose was not 
shaken. 

On the day after the battle Congress voted to raise five hundred milliom 
dollars and five hundred thousand men to put down the insurrection. A few- 
days afterwards a resolution passed both Houses, saying that it was a sacred 
duty of the nation to put down the revolt, from which no disaster should deter 
them, and to which they pledged every resource, national and individual. Mr. 
Lincoln said : " Having chosen our course without guile and with pure pur- 
pose, let us renew our trust in God and go forward without fear and with 
manly hearts." 

The spirit of the North was fully aroused, and no thought of any other 
issue than of success came to them. Thousands of earnest youth and middle- 
aged men thronged into the ranks, animated with the same lofty spirit of 
patriotism. Many of the three months' men re-enlisted for three years.. 
Regiments and brigades, divisions and army corps, were organized, and the 
army was rapidly disciplined and prepared for the fearful task imposed^ 
Public credit was established and the warmest patriotism was aroused. The 
money to pay the soldiers of a Connecticut Regiment was not ready on time,, 
and a private in the ranks drew his check for one hundred thousand dollars 
to advance the pay of his comrades. This man was Elias Howe, Jr., of Bridge- 
port, the inventor of the sewing machine. He had a physical infirmity which' 
would have exempted him from military service, and when a commission was 
offered to him he refused it on the ground of his inability to perform the 
duties; but he enlisted as a private to encourage other men who could per- 
form good service, to do the same. 

After the disaster at Bull's Run, General George B. McClellan was place.d, 
in command. He was a skillful engineer and organizer and set about the task 
of forming this incongruous mass of patriotic volunteers into a well-arranged 
and thoroughly disciplined army. His friends knew that he was the' man to- 
mold the army and make it what it should be, an obedient, disciplined and 



482 OUR NATION: 

-well-officered instrument of the government. In October, 1861, he was the 
-commander of two hundred thousand fighting-men, the largest army the 
United States had ever known. The men loved him with an enthusiasm that 
had been unequalled since the days of Bonaparte, and the army delighted to 
call him " The young Napoleon of the West." 

After the secession of Virginia the Confederate government removed its 
seat from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, and now the capitals of the 
two contending forces were within a few hours' travel of each other. The 
most severe fighting of the entire war was occasioned by each endeavoring 
to cajjture the capital of the other, and the brave obstinacy displayed in the 
defence of each. 

General Robert E. Lee became the commander of the Confederate army. 
He had been educated at the United States Military Academy at West Point, 
-and was an officer in the United States Army when his native State, Virginia, 
joined her fortunes with the Confederacy, and following his sense of duty and 
honor, he allied his fortunes with those of his native State. He was a brave, 
conscientious and skillful general, and a calm, thoughtful, unpretending man. 
He contended almost always with a force superior in number and armament, 
— such was the fortunes of war — but he made up more than the deficienc)' by 
his genius and skill with the aid of very able assistants. By his consummate 
ability, and his devotion to the cause, the war was maintained after the hope 
of success was gone, and when at length the overpowering resources, and 
numbers of the North compelled his surrender, he was esteemed even by his 
•enemies, who were proud of this noble but erring son, who had been educated 
"by the nation against which he had, with mistaken judgment, drawn his valiant 
sword. 

Thomas J. Jackson, who earned the epithet of " Stonewall " Jackson, was 
the most celebrated of Lee's generals. He was an earnest, religious man of 
:stern, uncompromising integrity, which won the admiration of friend and foe 
alike ; and he had gone into the war from a high sense of duty, and showed 
how a brilliant man can be sadly mistaken in judgment. He was scrupulously 
•exact in his own private life, led a class in Sunday School, taught his negroes, 
and delivered lectures on the authenticity of the Scriptures. He firmly be- 
h'eved in the justness of slavery, and ordered his slaves to be flogged when he 
thought the circumstances required it. General Jackson worked and fought 
for the preservation of the Slave system with the earnestness of a conscien- 
.tious zealot. He was the strong right arm of General Lee after the latter 



1 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 483 

became the chief of the Confederate Army. He was a brave, expert and suc- 
cessful general, and died regretted by honest men in both armies. 

In January, 1862, President Lincoln ordered General McClellan to ad- 
vance with his finely equipped army upon the enemy, and by the end of March 
he was ready to move. 

At the opening of the new year we will glance back over the history of 
the year 1861. Fort Sumter had been evacuated by Major Anderson, April 
14th. President Lincoln had issued his call for troops on the 15th. The 
sixth Massachusetts had been mobbed in the streets of Baltimore on the 19th. 
The offensive operations were begun by the United States Army on the i8th 
of May. The engagements of Big Bethel, Philippi, Fairfax Court House, 
Paterson Creek, Mather's Point, York Bridge, Laurel Hill, Rich Mountain, 
Eeverly, Carricksford, Bunker Hill, Barboursville, all in Virginia, had been 
fought before the disaster at Bull Run, of which we have written. They were, 
for the most part but preliminary skirmishes, and in no sense decisive. The 
insurrection in Maryland had been strangled at its birth, and that State was 
•saved to the Union. In Missouri, engagements of considerable importance 
liad been fought, namely at Boonville, Carthage, Dug Springs and Wilson's 
Creek. The Confederate privateer Petrel was sunk by the St. Lazvrence, 
August 1st. Fort Fillmore in New Mexico was treacherously given up by 
Major Lynde, with seven hundred and fifty men ; Lovettsville, Grafton, Boone 
Court House, Carnifex, Lucas Bend, Lewinsville Elk Water, Cheat Moun- 
tain, Darnstown, Romney, Fall's Church, Chapmansville, Greenbriar, Bolivar, 
Balls Bluffs, Vienna and Drainsville, all in Virginia, were places where more 
or less blood was shed during the opening years of the war. In the State of 
Missouri, whose governor was determined to take her out of the Union, a 
severe contest ensued, which resulted in driving the Confederates from her 
borders, and preserving her to the United States. Potosi, Wilson Creek, 
Charlestown, Lexington, Blue Mill Landing, Papinsville, Fredericktown, 
Springfield, Belmont, Mount Sion, were the names of places where engage- 
ments were fought in that State. 

In Kentucky the Confederates gained a slight foothold in the southern 
and western part. The governor encouraged the secessionists whilst he kept 
up a show of neutrality. He allowed them to establish recruiting camps for 
the Confederate Army, and looked with complacency upon the invasion of 
the State by a Confederate force under General Polk, who took possession of 
Columbus, on the bank of the Mississippi River. Union officers took vigorous 



484 OUR NATION: 

opposing measures. General Grant took possession of Paducah at the mouth 
of the Tennessee River. The "neutrality" of Kentucky was soon ended, and 
the State finally took a positive stand for the Union. There had been con- 
siderable skirimishing on its soil during the year, and severe battles were 
fought there afterwards. 

In the fall of 1861, there occurred an event which for a time threatened 
to cause a rupture with Great Britain. The Confederate government had 
sent two commissioners as ambassadors to the English and French courts, 
which had already acceded belligerent rights to " The Confederate States of 
America." These gentlemen, each with his secretary, had succeeded in run- 
ning the blockade at Charleston on the stormy night of October 12th, 1861,^ 
and proceeded to Cuba. Here they took passage on the British steamer 
Trent for St. Thomas, intending to take the regular packet steamer from that 
port for England. The United States vessel, San Jacinto, Captain Charles 
Wilkes, took them from the Trent and carried them to Boston, where they 
were incarcerated in Fort Warren, then used as a military prison. This act 
was in the strictest accord with the British interpretation and practice of the 
act which the war of 1812 led to, and which was left undecided in the treaty 
of peace at the close of that war. But it was in direct opposition to the 
avowed theory and policy of the American government. England now 
claimed, as the Americans claimed in 1812, that this was a violation of the 
rights of neutral powers. Thus after fifty years, in which she had strenuously 
maintained the right to do the very thing which the United States had now 
done, that proud nation acknowledged that the principle was wrong. A de- 
mand was made for the return of the ambassadors, James M. Mason and John 
Slidell. The American government were too glad to vindicate their policy, 
and to rid themselves of the burden, by giving up the men on January ist, 
1862. The ambassadors did not gain the advantage they sought, and the 
event silenced forever the arrogant claim of England to search the ships of 
neutrals, 

THE OPERATIONS OF 1862. 

The year 1862 opened with preparations to establish the national 
power on the Atlantic coast of the Southern States. An expedition under 
command of Major General A. E. Burnside, sailed from Hampton Roads 
January nth. The result was that Roanoke Island and the waters of Albe- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 485 

marie Sound fell into the hands of the Union forces. The Confederate force 
fled from Port Royal, South Carolina, January 2d, 

In Kentucky there had been a fight near Prestonburg, in which General 
J. A. Garfield, defeated the Confederate General Humphrey Marshall, January 
loth. General Thomas had defeated General Zollicoffer in a battle at Mill 
Spring, Kentucky, where the latter was killed. Kentucky was saved and a 
path of escape made for the Union men in East Tennessee by these two de- 
cisive victories. The Confederates fled into Tennessee. 

A flotilla of gun- boats had been built and equipped under the direction 
of General John C. Fremont, of California fame, at Cairo on the Mississippi. 
Commodore A. H. Foote had been put in' command. An expedition against 
Forts Henry and Donelson had been organized, and General U. S. Grant had 
been put in chief command. Commodore Foote was ordered to the Tennes- 
see River with his gun boats. On February 3d, he was in front of Fort 
Henry, and on the 6th, the fort surrendered. General Grant made immediate 
preparation to attack Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, while Com- 
modore Foote hurried back to Cairo to obtain mortar guns for the siege. The 
battle began on the 13th, continued on the two following days, when the fort 
was surrendered on the i6th with thirteen thousand three hundred prisoners 
of war. The Confederate Generals, Floyd and Pillow, fled the night before 
and left General Buckner, who was the only brave man of the three, to sur- 
render the fort. This was the first brilliant victory for General Grant during 
the war. The fall of Fort Donelson was a heavy blow to the Confederates, 
but the news caused wide-spread rejoicing all through the loyal States. It 
was regarded as a crushing blow to the Southern cause, and lost to them the 
States of Missouri, Kentucky and all northern and middle Tennessee. 

The campaign in Arkansas resulted after a few skirmishes in a decisive 
victory for the Union forces under General S. R. Curtis, at Pea Ridge, on 
the 7th of February, 1862, in which the five Confederate generals. Van Dorn, 
McCulloch, Mcintosh, Pike and Price were engaged. McCulloch and Mcin- 
tosh were mortally wounded, and Van Dorn retired behind the mountains. 
The Confederate army lost thirty-four hundred men in killed and wounded, 
and sixteen hundred prisoners. 

While these important victories were going on in the West there were 
events of interest occurring in Virginia. The Confederates had taken an old 
frigate which they sheathed in iron and roofed her with iron rails and fitted 
her up as a formidable iron-clad vessel. There was no ship in the United 



486 OUR NATION: 

States Navy which could withstand her attack. On the 8th of March she 
steamed down to assault the Union vessels in Hampton Roads. This mon- 
ster, which had been re-christened the Merrimac, came into the very midst of 
the wooden ships. Not a man was seen on board, not a gun was fired, and 
the broadsides poured in upon her rolled off her iron sides and left her un- 
harmed. She destroyed the Congress and Cumberland, and no power could with- 
stand her assault. The Union vessels there were apparently doomed, and this 
monster seemed able to devastate the whole Northern coast. There were anx- 
ious hearts that day through all the North as the news of this encounter flew 
on the wires over the country. The Confederates had the advantage of them 
now, and could rest on their laurels for one night at least. The next day she 
came down the James to complete her work of destruction so well begun the 
day before. But at midnight a mysterious something came in from the sea, 
lighted on her way by the burning Congress. The thing looked like a cheese 
box on a raft; and there had been nothing like it in the whole history of naval 
warfare. It was the Monitor on her trial trip from New York. That day was 
the trial of strength between the inventive genius of the two sections. The 
Yankee cheese box won the prize. In the novel naval engagement she was 
the victor, and the Merrimac crawled back to her moorings disabled and use- 
less. The United States Navy had found a champion that could defend her 
from the monster that but yesterday threatened her annihilation. 

The army of the Potomac under McClellan was transferred to Fortress 
Monroe, and began his march up the Virginia Peninsula. General Banks was 
sent up the Shenandoah Valley to confront General Stonewall Jackson. The 
battle of Winchester was fought on the 23d of March and resulted in a victory 
of the Union arms. 

The month of May found General Fremont in the mountains of Virginia; 
General Banks at Strasburg in the Shenandoah valley; and General McDowell 
at Fredericksburg on the Rappahannock, for the two-fold purpose of defend- 
ing Washington and helping McClellan. The swift-moving General Ewell 
had joined Jackson, and on May 8th struck Fremont a heavy blow, and May 
23d sejit Banks flying down the valley to Winchester. Then the tide turned 
and Ewell was driven back, pursued by Fremont and Shields. Jackson rallied 
his forces, joined Ewell and, on the 9th of June, the national armies began 
their second great race down the Shenandoah Valley followed by the Con- 
federates. 

The two main armies were face to face with each other on the first of 



I 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 487 

June, within six or seven miles of the Confederate Capital. The army of the 
Union were anxious to enter the city of Richmond at once, and the time had 
come for a decisive blow. The leader was wanting ; McClellan's habitual 
caution and desire to save human life led him to be over anxious for the safety 
of the army, every man of which loved him. They were burning to win glory 
.and honor, and were in good condition to march directly into the city. Lin- 
coln urged him daily to make the attack, but still he hesitated. The Con- 
federates came out to attack him, and after several battles the general made 
■preparations to retreat to the shelter of the gunboats on the James River. 
He would save his army or '' at least die with it and share its fate." 

The army of patriots were anxious to fight on the offensive and could 
-decide the qutestion of its own fate, but the general, over-solicitous, moved 
.away from the enemy, and his army was daily attacked by the Confederates, 
and as often gained the victory; but still they held back. Once they drove 
the enemy fleeing before them and the soldiers demanded to be led into Rich- 
mond. The army was strong enough but its leader was weak. McClellan 
-was loyal and desired the success of the North, nor woyld we for an instant 
hint at any improper motives. He lost fifteen thousand men in seven days' 
iight from Gaines' Mills, June 28th, to July 3d, 1862. The army of General 
Tee had sustained a loss even larger, and when McClellan was fortifying his 
■camp near the James River, Lee was glad to rest his shattered and discom- 
forted troops behind the fortifications of Richmond. The retreat was a mas- 
terly and skillful one, and showed good generalship no doubt, but neither the 
.army nor the country were in a humor to appreciate the greatness of a General 
whose skill consisted in conducting a successful flight. The prize had been 
within the grasp of a hand powerful enough to seize it, but the brain that 
■directed that power was conservative and cautious, and therefore the city of 
Richmond was to be a bone of contention between the magnificent army of 
the Potomac and the brave army of Virginia for nearly three years longer. 
The Confederates were exultant, and the North was sadly disappointed with 
the results of the campaign of the Spring of 1862. 

We will turn in this swiftly changing panorama to the West. The silent, 
determined and persistent General U. S. Grant was doing valiant service for 
the Union army, and rising in rank and influence. After the fall of Fort 
Donelson, Johnston saw that he could only save the Confederate army by 
•evacuating Bowling Green, and Columbus, Kentucky; he then marched his 
forces to Nashville, Tennessee, closely followed by General Buell, and at the 



488 OUR NATION: 

same time the national gunboats moved up the Tennessee River with land 
troops in gunboats. Nashville was surrendered to the Union forces February 
26th, and on March 4th Andrew Johnson was appointed Military Governor, 
with the rank of Brigadier-General. Columbus was taken by Commodore 
Foote and General W. T. Sherman, March 4th, 1862. 

Island Number Ten, a thousand miles from New Orleans, was now re- 
garded as the key to the Mississippi River, and was strongly fortified by the 
Confederates. This was flanked by General Pope; and Commodore Foote 
hammered away at the defenses from his gunboats until it surrendered, April 
fth. This was another heavy blow to the Confederates, and they never re-' 
covered from it. General Grant had sent the gunboats up the winding Ten- 
nessee River, from Fort Henry, and they penetrated the country as far as 
Florence, Alabama, under Lieutenant-Commander Phelps, United States 
Navy, who found an intensely loyal feeling among the people. The army 
were anxious to advance to their aid, and General Grant attempted to do 
this. The objective point was Corinth, a city on the Memphis and Charleston 
Railroad. The large Union army was encamped at Shiloh, or Pittsburg 
Landing, about twenty miles from Corinth, on the first of April. General 
Buell was trying to join Grant with his forces from Nashville, leaving General 
Negley in command in that city. Huntsville, Alabama, was captured April 
nth, by a part of Buell's army under General Mitchell. 

The battle of Shiloh had been fought and won by Grant, on the 7th. 
The Southern army had advanced from Corinth to within four miles of the 
Union army unperceived on the morning of the sixth, Sunday, and fell upon 
Generals Sherman and Prentice. The battle raged all day, and the Union 
army at night was driven, discomfited, to the shelter of their gunboats, on 
the Tennessee. General Johnston had been killed. Beauregard, then in chief 
command, telegraphed a shout of victory to his chief at Richmond, but Buell 
and Lew Wallace arrived in the night, crossed the river, and Grant's army 
was saved. The next day, when the fight was renewed, Wallace charged on 
the Confederate left, and pressed Beauregard back. The battle became gen- 
eral, and the Southerners Avere driven from the ground that they had taken 
the day before. Then they fled in precipitate rout, covered by a strong rear 
guard. The South lost ten thousand men, the North fifteen thousand; and 
that night the Union army buried the dead on the battle field, while the 
enemy fled to Corinth. General Hallock came from St. Louis, April 12th, 
and assumed command, but instead of marching directly upon Corinth, he 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 489 

moved by slow approaches with spade and pick, fortifying as he advanced. 
On the morning of May 30th, when he sent out skirmishers " to feel the 
enemy's position," there were no enemies, for Corinth had been evacuated, 
and the city burned. 

Seventy-five miles above the mouths of the Mississippi the Union fleet 
under Commodore Farragut, with land troops under General Butler, had cap- 
tured Forts Jackson and St. Philip. New Orleans had been occupied by 
General Butler, who declared martial law April 29th. Commodore Foote, 
with his flotilla, beseiged Fort Pillow, May loth, and on the 4th of June the 
Confederate forces fled to Memphis, where Commodore Davis, who had suc- 
ceeded Commodore Foote, had a severe engagement on June 6th, but soon 
after the flag of the United States waved over the city. All this was going 
on in the west while the army of the Potomac was moving so cautiously under 
General McClellan. 

The expedition to North Carolina was accomplishing much in gaining 
that State back to national control. The battle of New Berne was fought on 
March 8th, and a fight occurred upon the nth of April, near Elizabeth City. 
The Northern troops had taken the coast, and were moving into the interior. 
The national forces captured Fort Mason, at the entrance of Beaufort Harbor, 
April 25, and now held undisputed sway from the Dismal Swamp to Cape 
Fear River. 

While General Burnside was engaged in this work in North Carolina, 
General T. W, Sherman and Commodore Dupont went upon a similar expedi- 
tion to the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. Fort Pulaski was taken 
after a severe pounding, April 12, and this commanded the entrance to the 
Savannah River. The coast of Florida was easily seized in the early winter. 
Fort Clinch, the first of the national forts re-occupied since their seizure, was 
taken in February; Jacksonville, Florida, March nth, St. Augustine and 
Pensacola, opposite Fort Pickens, which never had been in possession of the 
South, were captured in Ma'-ch. Thus in less than a year from the fall of 
Sumter, the United States was in possession of the Atlantic and Gulf Cast, 
as far as Pensacola bay, with the exception of Charleston harbor. 

The scene will change again to the army of the Potomac. General 
McClellan had disappointed the country, and when the news of disasters to 
the Union forces, in front of Richmond, swept over the North, the hearts of 
the people sank within them. The commander assured the government, three 
days after the battle of Malvern Hill, that he did not have ''over fifty thou- 



490 OUR NATION: 

sand men with their colors." What had become of the one hundred and 
sixty thousand men who had been sent to him within the one hundred days 
previous ? Lincohi with an anxious heart hastened to the head-quarters of 
McClellan to solve this question and answer his request for more troops. 
The result of this conference was that Lincoln found forty thousand men 
more than the general had reported, and yet there were seventy-five thousand 
men missing. Orders were given to remove this army from the Peninsula, 
and concentrate it before Washington, but McClellan was opposed to this 
plan, and he was slow to obey. 

In the month of August, 1862, the national Capitol was in great danger. 
The battle of Cedar Mountain had been fought on the 9th of that month. In 
this fight the national troops were under command of General Banks. They 
were driven back, but by the timely reinforcement of General Rickett's divi- 
sion, were able to check the Confederate advance in one of the most desperate 
encounters of the war. Both sides claimed the victory. General Pope was 
reinforced by Burnside's army, and moved to the Rapidan, intending to hold 
that position until the arrival of McClellan, but was driven back by Lee. The 
Confederate general found that he could not force a passage in this direction, 
and he moved toward the mountains to outflank Pope. This general did his 
best to thwart the plan of Lee, but his army was much weakened, and 
McClellan protesting against moving from the James delayed reinforcements 
from that quarter. Pope, therefore, concentrated his forces at Rappahannock 
Station, August 23d, 1862, that he might be able to fall with a superior force 
upon the flanking army under " Stonewall " Jackson. This adroit and skillful 
general, with accustomed swiftness, crossed the Bull Run Mountain at Thor- 
oughfare Gap, and placed his large force between Pope and Washington. 
His cavalry swept as far as Fairfax Court House and Centerville, and his 
main army were at Manassas, waiting for a heavy column under Longstreet, 
who was advancing. Pope moved with quickness to attack and capture Jack- 
son before Longstreet could come up. But the latter succeeded in joining 
Jackson, and Pope, who was now assured that he need no longer wait for re- 
inforcements from McClellan, saw that he must fight. The second battle at 
Bull Run was fought with great loss and defeat to the Union army, August 
30th. Pope fell back to Centerville, where he was joined by Franklin and 
Sumner. Lee did not now attack them, but made another flank movement 
August 31st. This resulted in a battle September ist, at Chantilly where 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 491 

Generals Kearney and Stevens were killed, and the whole army driven within 
the fortifications of Washington. 

The Confederates now had the advantage and determined to follow it 
up. The time had come when they could make a formidable advance upon 
Washington, and carry the war into the land of the enemy. September 7th, 
Lee crossed the Potomac with almost his entire force, and marched into 
Maryland with the belief that thousands of people in that State would join 
his army and fight, to rescue her from the Northern forces. In this he was 
sadly disappointed. McClellan with the Army of the Potomac, numbering 
90,000, came to the rescue, and the army of Virginia was merged into it. 
Mc Clellan moved cautiously. At the middle of September his forces fought 
and won the battle of South Mountain, in which the gallant General Reno 
was killed. Harper's Ferry was captured by Lee's army, where Colonel D. 
H. Miles, a Marylander, surrendered nearly 1200 United States troops. 

The crisis was coming and the issue must be met at Antietam. The 
Confederates had possession of the right bank of the stream, and the Union 
army the left. The contest opened with artillery firing from the former,. 
McClellan was not ready to move until noon. Hooker crossed the Antietam 
and had a successful fight on the Confederate left, and rested on his arms 
that night to renew the fight in the morning. The fight opened early the 
next day, by Hooker charging on Lee's left again ; Burnside on the right, was 
doing good execution against Longstreet. The contest raged all day, and at 
night the Confederate army retreated from the scene. Fourteen thousand 
fresh troops came to the aid of McClellan, and it would seem as if he might 
have followed up his advantage, and taken the Confederates; but when he 
was ready to move, thirty-six hours later, Lee's shattered and broken army 
were behind their own defenses on the south side of the Potomac, whither 
they had hastened under cover of darkness the night before. 

McClellan came to Harper's Ferry, which he found abandoned by the 
Confederates, and ten days after the battle of Antietam, while the North were 
hourly expecting to hear that his victorious army had pursued and overcome 
Lee, he coolly declared his intention to remain where he was, and " attack 
the enemy should he attempt to re-cross into Maryland." On October ist, 
President Lincoln instructed the Commander of the Army of the Potomac 
to move at once across the river ; but twenty days were spent in corre- 
spondence, during which the beautiful October weather, which was favorable 
for military movements, had passed, and Lee's army was resting, recruiting 



492 . OUR NATION: 

and fortifying. Then, November 2d, McClellan announced that his whole 
army M^ere in Virginia, prepared to move southward, on the east side of the 
Blue Ridge, instead of pursuing Lee on the western side. The patience of 
the government and the loyal people of the North was exhausted, and 
McClellan was relieved November 5th, and General A. E. Burnside was placed 
in command. This ended the military career of Major-General George B. 
McClellan, the commander of the army of the Potomac, who was over-cautious 
and careful of the lives of his men. 

General Burnside reorganized the army and formed a plan to capture 
Richmond. For this purpose he made his base of supplies at Acquia Creek, 
and took position at Fredericksburg, from which he intended to advance. 
But before he was prepared to cross the Rappahannock, Lee appeared with 
an army 80,000 strong, on the heights in the rear of the city, and destroyed 
all the bridges on the river. Burnside was obliged to cross upon pontoon 
bridges. The Union army advanced under a heavy fire, and a bloody battle 
ensued, which lasted from the 13th to the i6th of December. The Unionists 
were defeated with great slaughter. Lee took possession of the city, and the 
National forces retired under cover of darkness. Burnside was superseded 
by General Joseph Hooker January 26th, 1863, when the army were in winter- 
quarters. We must here leave them, while we turn our attention to the stir- 
ring events on the Mississippi. 

We left the Northern army June ist, 1862, in possession of the Missis- 
sippi below New Orleans, and from its sources to Memphis, Tennessee. Col- 
onel John H. Morgan, of Tennessee, had organized an independent band for 
guerilla warfare, and was overrunning his native State with his horsemen, 
making long and swift raids through the country in all directions preparatory 
to an invasion of Tennessee and Kentucky by a Confederate force. By these 
raids much damage was done to private and public property, and many 
tributes were wrung from the people. General E. Kirby Smith, with a large 
Confederate force, entered Kentucky from East Tennessee, and toward 
Frankfort, the capital. A desperate battle was fought August 30th near 
Richmond, Kentucky, in which the Union army under General Manson 
was defeated. The affrighted Legislature, in session at Frankfort, fled to 
Louisville. The Southern army pressed on toward the Ohio River, with the 
intention of crossing that stream and destroying the city of Cincinnati. They 
found their way obstructed by strong fortifications on the south side of the 
river and a force under General Lew Wallace. Smith then turned toward 



k 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 493 

Frankfort, captured the city, and waited for General Bragg. Bragg crossed 
the Cumberland River September 5th with 8000 Confederates, and September 
14th the advance guard was repulsed by Colonel T. J, Wilder; but two days 
afterward Colonel Wilder was compelled to surrender to a superior force. 
Thus far the Southern army had had it their own way, but now there came a 
change. General Buell fell upon the combined armies of Bragg and Smith at 
Perryville, and after a severe fight drove the Confederates from Kentucky, 
with severe loss, October 8th. General Buell like General McClellan was too 
-cautious and careful. If he had acted with vigor and decision, the invasion 
of Smith and Bragg would have been crushed at once by the capture of the 
-entire force. As it was it was harmful rather than beneficial to the Southern 
cause, and General Bragg, who was responsible for it, was relieved of his com- 
mand by the Confederate government. 

While all this was going on in Kentucky, Generals Van Dorn and Price, 
were invading Tennessee with another Confederate force. General Rosecrans 
with a small force overcame the Confederates in a closely contested battle at 
luka Springs, September 19th. The beaten army fled southward, and at Riply 
were reinforced, and prepared to attack Corinth, now held by Rosecrans, and 
in both engagements of October 2d and 3d, the Southern army was repulsed, 
and finally driven back to Riply. Then there came a period of quiet in the 
department over which General Grant was then in command. 

In the meantime there were important events transpiring on the Great 
River. The forces under Admiral Farragut, had move dup the river from 
New Orleans and taken Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana, as early as 
May 7th. Farragut's vessel ran up to Vicksburg and exchanged salutations 
with the gun-boats of Admiral Davis, which came down from Memphis, June 
29th. Farragut, with the Hartford and other vessels, ran by the forts of 
Vicksburg and joined the fleet above. He besieged the city, and attempted 
to cut a canal across the peninsula, and avoid it altogether, but this failed, 
and the fleet returned down the river. There was an attack by the Confed- 
erate troops under General Breckenridge, at Baton Rouge. The Union 
General Williams was killed, but the assailants were repulsed. The Confed- 
erate ram, Arkansas, was destroyed by the United States gun-boat Essex, 
Captain Porter, commander, August 6th. Captain Porter went up the river 
to reconnoitre and had a sharp fight at Port Hudson, September 7th. A 
large part of Louisiana, on the west bank of the Mississippi, was brought 



494 OUR NATION: 

under control before the close of the year. General Butler was relieved of 
the command of New Orleans by General Banks, December i6th. 

The account of one more battle will end the record for the year 1862. 
General Rosecrans had taken the sadly demoralized army of the Cumberland, 
and thoroughly reorganized and disciplined it. It was in the vicinity of 
Bowling Green when he took command. Bragg had a large force at Stone 
River, near Murfreesborough, and was preparing to annihilate the Union 
army. A most sanguinary conflict was begun there on the 31st of Decem- 
ber, and was fought all day. At night the Unionists were so completely 
overcome that Bragg expected that they would see safety in flight during the 
darkness, but to his astonishment they were still in his front, ready to renew 
the encounter. The contest was fierce and sharp, and the day seemed to be 
irretrievably lost to the North, when a charge of seven regiments under the 
leadership of Brigadier-General W. B. Harzen, sent the Confederate lines 
flying in confusion, and won the prize of victory from the very teeth of defeat. 
Bragg retreated to Chattanooga, and Rosecrans held possession of Murfrees- 
borough. 

Thus begins the year 1863, with a decided and a glorious victory for the 
Nationals on the field of battle ; but there was a moral victory also won on 
this day, which decided the fate of the country for future generations. 

THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 

The National Government had disavowed any intention to make war 
upon slavery in the States where it existed. The contest was for the suprem- 
acy of the Nation, and the enforcement of its laws and Constitution. There 
came a mighty revolution of feeling among those in the North, who had sym- 
pathized with the peculiar institution of the South. They came to see that 
this institution was the fundamental cause of the insurrection, and at the 
same time a means of prolonging the strife. The negroes could plant, gather 
the crops, and attend to domestic affairs, while the white men were doing 
military duty. The course of many of the Northern generals in returning 
the fugitive slaves who came into their lines, was very unpopular. 

The Republican party in Congress was pressing upon the attention of 
President Lincoln the importance of emancipating the slaves held by those 
who were fighting the national government. Congress had abolished slavery 
in the District of Columbia, and on the 22d of September, Abraham Lincoln 
on the authority of Congress, issued a preliminary proclamation, in which he 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 49S 

declared his purpose to issue a Proclamation of Emancipation on the first day 
of January, 1863, forever setting free the slaves of all men found that day in 
open rebellion against the United States. The Confederates sneered at this, 
and their Northern sympathizers, of whom there were some still remaining, 
called it a " Pope's Bull against a Comet." 

The war went on, as we have seen, prosecuted with vigor on both sides. 
The dawn of the New Year came, and " The EMANCIPATION PROCLAMA- 
TION " was issued under the seal of the United States. The friends of free- 
dom hailed it all over the world as. the harbinger of success to the North. At 
once the fetters were stricken from over three millions of human beings, and 
they were free before the law to enter the union lines, and as fast as new 
territory in the South was occupied by Union arms they were set at liberty. 
It was a severe blow to the South, and took away their hope, but it allied all 
the real friends of human liberty in the world to the cause of the Union. 
While the North was engaged in this work, the Confederacy was engaged in 
extensive preparations to destroy the commerce and the power of the nation. 
Privateers, built in British shipyards, equipped with British guns and seamen, 
and fitted out in British waters, were sent to prey upon American commerce, 
with the " stars and bars " flying at their peak. When the people of New 
York heard the cry of the starving operatives at Manchester, England, whose 
supply of cotton had been cut off by the blockade of the South, they sent a 
ship-load of provisions to aid them. This vessel, laden with the voluntary 
bounty of America to the starving citizens of England, was guarded upon her 
voyage by an armed government vessel to preserve her from the piratical 
torch, lighted by British hands. 

The course of Great Britain, during all the period of the Civil War in' 
America, was a peculiarly inconsistent one. With the proud boast that no slave 
could live under her flag, she hastened to recognize the belligerent rights of 
the " Confederate States," then holding millions of human beings in bondage, 
gave the moral aid of her indifference and apathy if not support to acts of 
illegality, and stultified herself in regard to her national policy of eighty years 
on the question of neutrality; she gave a ready market to the bonds of the 
"Confederate States," and sheltered and abetted the enemies of a country 
with which she was at peace, and furnished ships, munitions of war, and men 
to fight against the same country. All this for the sake of aiding a cause 
avowedly resting upon slavery as its chief cornerstone, for her supposed 
commercial advantage. 



496 OUR NATION: 

The Confederate privateer Alabama, the principal one of the craft fitted 
out by the British, committed fearful depredations on American commerce 
during the last ninety days of the year 1862, 



THE MILITARY OPERATIONS OF 1863. 

We will open the account of the year with the operations on the Missis- 
sippi. A portion of this great river was still in the hands of the Confederates, 
from Vicksburg to Port Hudson. The Confederates had erected strong for- 
tifications at the latter place, a distance of twenty-five miles from Baton 
Rouge. Grant had a large amount of supplies at Holly Springs, which, 
owing to the carelessness or something worse of the commandant there, fell 
into the hands of the Confederates December 20th. Grant was forced to fall 
back, and thus a large force of Confederates was able to come to Vicksburg. 
Sherman had planned to attack the city in the rear, but in an engagement on 
the Chickasaw Bayou was defeated with great loss December 28th, 1862. He 
was compelled to abandon that enterprise, and January 2d, 1863, he was 
superseded by General McClernand, who out-ranked him. About the middle 
of January the Confederate fort at Arkansas Post was captured and many 
supplies destroyed. Grant had come down the river from Memphis, and 
Vicksburg was placed under siege. The army was organized into four corps, 
and after a series of movements, which would in themselves fill a volume, he 
finally struck upon a plan which he followed to the end. Some of the naval 
fleet ran down by Vicksburg to destroy the Confederate fleet below, but were 
themselves taken and destroyed. A strong force went down the west bank 
of the river in command of Generals McClernand and McPherson, in the 
direction of New Carthage. Porter determined to run by the batteries at 
Vicksburg, and succeeded in doing so with most ©f his fleet and transports 
on the i6th of April. On the 22d six transports accomplished the same feat, 
and now Grant prepared for a vigorous attack upon the flank and rear of the 
'city. A most wonderful cavalry raid under Colonel Grierson through the 
very heart of Mississippi had assured Grant that the bulk of the Southern 
army of that region was in Vicksburg. 

Porter attacked and again ran by the batteries of Vicksburg April 29th, 
and on May ist Grant's troops gained a victory at Port Gibson. Sherman 
joined the Union army May 8th. The Confederates were defeated near Ray- 
mond, May 1 2th, and again at Jackson May 14th. The Confederates were 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 497 

driven northward and another victory was gained for the Union army at 
Champion Mills. On the i6th and 17th Grant drove them from Big Black 
River, and on the 19th he had the whole Confederate army penned up at 
Vicksburg. He had lived off the enemy's country for two weeks, in which 
time his army had gained repeated victories. The very day on which he 
arrived before Vicksburg Grant made an assault, but was repulsed. This 
he followed up with another unsuccessful attempt on the 22d. Then he 
settled down to a regular siege of the city, for forty days, pouring shot and 
shell into the beleaguered town day and night. The citizens were safe only 
in caves which they dug in the banks of the hills with which the city abounds. 
The army and people were reduced to the verge of starvation and were in 
great distress. They were driven to the necessity of eating mule meat. 
Fourteen ounces of food for two days was the extent of the ration issued. 
General Pemberton, the Confederate Commander-in-chief at Vicksburg, gave 
up all hope of being relieved by Johnston, who he thought would strike 
in Grant's rear, and on the morning of July 3d he sent proposals to surrender. 
The formal surrender was made on the fourth of July, and there was great 
rejoicing, for on the same day another hard-fought battle was won in the 
East. Twenty-seven thousand stand of arms w^ere taken and the strongest 
fortified post on the Mississippi fell into the hands of the Unionists. 

Port Hudson, which had been bravely besieged by General Banks for 
forty days, surrendered on the 9th. 

We will recount the doings of Banks in the Lower Mississippi Gulf 
region prior to this. He had sent troops to the support of the Union forces 
at Galveston, Texas, but the Confederate General Magruder had repulsed 
them and retaken the city. This was a barren victory to the Confederates, 
for Admiral Farragut maintained a strict blockade over that port. After this 
a land and naval force was sent into the Teche region, and made a successful 
expedition to repossess the western part of Louisiana. An expedition up the 
Red River under Banks penetrated the country as far as Alexandria, where 
the general proclaimed that all Southern and Western Louisiana was free 
from Confederate rule. With this impression he led his troops to Port 
Hudson and invested that point. He made an assault on this fortress on 
May 29th, but was repulsed with much loss. The siege went on for forty 
days, and after Vicksburg fell into the hands of the Unionists, the Confeder- 
ates saw that it would be useless to try to hold out longer and capitulated. 
Now the river was open to the sea, and the Confederacy was severed in two 



498 OUR NATION: 

parts. The blow was a severe one, and the wiser men of the Confederacy 
saw that their cause was hopeless from this point in the contest. 

We left the army of the Potomac in winter-quarters at the opening of the 
year, Major-General Joseph Hooker in command. There followed a period 
of three months in which he was busily engaged in re-organizing that army. 
A large number of officers and men were absent from their regiments. There 
were officers who were opposed to the Government's policy on the question 
of slavery, and many were crying out it is a " war for the negro " and not a 
"war for the union." These men were removed, and their places were filled 
by energetic men in full sympathy with the administration. Order and disci- 
pline became thoroughly established, and Hooker had over one hundred 
thousand available troops on the first day of April. The period of rest and 
reformation of the army had done much to add to its tone and strength. 
During this same time General Lee had been engaged in strengthening the 
army of Northern Virginia. A rigid conscription act had been enforced and 
all the available men were hurried into the ranks. He had made the defenses 
of Richmond almost impregnable, and with wonderful energy and skill had 
put his army into the best condition for the coming struggle. In April, Lee 
liad a well-organized and enthusiastic army of more than sixty thousand men. 
A part of his army under Longstreet were in South-eastern Virginia, but Lee 
was behind the strong fortifications and able to cope with a much superior 
force. 

Early in April Hooker determined to make an advance upon Richmond. 
He threw a mounted force of ten thousand men in the rear of Lee's army, 
and moved with another large force to Chancellorsville, within ten miles of 
Fredericksburg. The left wing of Hooker's army, consisting of the First, 
Third, and Sixth Corps, was near Fredericksburg, under General Sedgwick, 
and by their demonstration on the Confederate front so completely deceived 
General Lee that Hooker was well on the way before Lee was aware of his 
real design. But Lee did not turn back to Richmond, as Hooker thought he 
would when he discovered his peril, but pushed the column of Stonewall 
Jackson forward, and compelled Hooker to fight at Chancellorsville, with his 
army divided. There was great peril for both armies. The bloody battle of 
Chancellorsville was fought the ist and 2d of May, and resulted in a bitter 
defeat for the Union army. The struggle was severe and sanguinary, and 
Hooker's army was driven back on the road leading to the Rapidan and the 
Rappahannock. Lee's forces were united, but Hooker's were divided. Sedg- 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 499 

wick, near Fredericksburg, was in danger and could not come to Hooker's 
aid. When he received the orders of his chief, he moved at once and took 
possession of Fredericksburg— stormed the heights, and drove General Early 
back. May 3d. He then moved on to join Hooker's main body, but was 
checked at Salem Church, a few miles from Fredericksburg, by the whole of 
Lee's army. Now, instead of being able to join Hooker, he was driven across 
the Rappahannock May 4th and 5th. Hooker, hearing of the disaster to 
Sedgwick, was obliged to also retreat across the river. The Union forces 
united and fell back on May 5th. The whole movement had resulted in a 
severe loss to the Union army, and a decided victory to the Confederates. 
Longstreet had made a spirited and vigorous attack upon General Peck, but 
had been repulsed at Suffolk at the head of the Nansemond River, in south- 
eastern Virginia. Longstreet, hearing of the disaster at Chancellorsville, 
joined Lee and made his army as strong as that of the Nationals. The 
Union army had been out-generaled once more, and the skill and energy of 
the Confederate commander had won the day. 

Under the impression that there was still a large body of people in the 
North who would manifest active sympathy with the Confederates if they had 
the opportunity to do so, and highly elated by their successes at Chancellors- 
ville, the Confederate authorities ordered Lee to prepare for another for- 
midable invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. But they misunderstood 
the temper and the resources of the North. Hooker suspected this design, 
and reported his convictions to the government at Washington. The term of 
enlistment of a large number of troops that had volunteered for nine months 
had expired, and Hooker's army was being weakened by their discharge, but 
other recruits for three years or during the war were coming in. 

By a flank movement Lee compelled Hooker to break up his camp on 
the Rappahannock and move toward Washington. Lee at the same time sent 
his left wing up the Shenandoah, and a battle was fought at Winchester, in 
which General Milroy was driven back and the Union forces suffered severe 
loss, but escaped into Maryland and Pennsylvania with their supply and am- 
munition trains. A large cavalry force pursued Milroy into Pennsylvania, 
and destroyed the railroad up the Cumberland Valley to Chambersburg, in 
Pennsylvania, plundering the people all along the march. The Confederate 
army was upon Northern soil on June 25th. Hooker had been vigilant and 
active in the meanwhile, and crossed the Potomac at Edwards' Ferry. A 
disagreement arose between General Hooker and General Halleck — then 



500 OUR NATION: 

Commander-in-chief — and Hooker resigned. General George G. Meade was 
placed in command of the army of the Potomac June 28th, and retained it to 
the close of the war. 

At this time the Union army were in Frederick, Maryland, ready to cut 
off Lee's line of communication, fall upon his columns in retreat, or follow 
him on a parallel line toward the Susquehanna River. Lee was then prepar- 
ing to march on to Philadelphia, but learning of the danger which threatened 
his flank and rear he recalled Ewell, who was within a few miles of Harris- 
burg. The rapid gathering of the militia of Pennsylvania and surrounding 
States alarmed him, and Lee, therefore, concentrated all the army of Northern 
Virginia in the vicinity of Gettysburg. He did this for the purpose of falling 
upon the army of the Potomac with crushing force, and then march upon 
Baltimore or Washington, or, in case of defeat, have a line of retreat to the 
Potomac River. General Meade did not comprehend this design of Lee until 
June 30th, and then at once he prepared to meet the shock of battle on a line 
a little south of Gettysburg. This was the pivotal battle of the war, and 
deserves more than a passing notice. 

The Confederates had invaded a Northern State, and were now to meet 
the Union army on its own soil. The great cities of the North were threat- 
ened. The Southern army had touched its highest point, and upon this issue 
the fortunes of the country hung, A new general had assumed the command 
of an army with which he was unacquainted two days before the contest was 
commenced. Meade had an oft-defeated army of from sixty to seventy 
thousand men with which to meet the seventy-five thousand victorious troops 
of Lee. MeClellan, Burnsideand Hooker had measured ability with this adroit 
and self-possessed chieftain, and been worsted again and again. It seemed 
a hopeless task, but Meade was calm, quiet, resolute, brave, and unpretend- 
ing. He set himself about the task assigned him, and he accomplished it by 
the loyal co-operation of his brave corps commanders, and the persistency of 
the noble rank and file who were determined to conquer or die. Thousands 
of men who had hitherto excused themselves from active military service in 
the field arose to arms, and offered themselves for immediate service, when 
the field of battle was changed from Southern to Northern soil. The Union 
cavalry under General Kilpatrick had met and defeated a force under General 
Stuart, at Hanover, a town east of Gettysburg, June 29th; and on the same 
day Buford and his horsemen entered Gettysburg, but found no Confederates 
there. On the 30th, General J. F. Reynolds, the brave commander of the 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 5or 

First Corps, who fell on the field of battle the 'next day, arrived with his 
troops. 

General Hill of the Confederate army was approaching with a large force 
from Chambersburg, which encountered Buford's cavalry in the early morning 
of July 1st. The sound of a sharp skirmish brought Reynolds to the field, 
and a severe engagement ensued on Oak or Seminary Ridge, in which the 
gallant Reynolds fell dead. General O. O. Howard with the Eleventh Corps 
came up and the battle became more general, for Lee was concentrating his 
forces there. The Union army resisted the attack, and held their ground 
bravely as charge after charge was made upon their lines, but at night they 
were pressed back to a more advantageous position selected by General W. 
S. Hancock, the intrepid and beloved commander of the Second Corps. This 
position was on a range of rocky hills back of but close to the village. The 
line was formed on the two sides of a triangle, with Cemetery Hill, the point 
nearest the town, forming the angle. Here the troops halted for the night, 
and threw up a breastwork of defense. General Meade with the main body 
of the army hastened up to join the forces who had sustained the brunt of 
the first day's fight. 

The next day the forces were facing each other on what was to prove the 
most hotly contested battle field of the war. Each commander understood 
the immense value of the prize at stake, and seemed loth to make the first 
move in the decisive contest. Not until late in the afternoon of July 2d did 
the carnage open. General Lee then precipitated his solid columns upon 
Meade's left, commanded by General Sickles, and the fearful harvest of death 
began. This extended to the centre, commanded by Hancock, and the heavy 
masses of armed men rolled up to his line to be driven back, like the waves 
of the sea from a rock-bound coast. Huge furrows were plowed through the 
solid ranks of men by the shot and shell that swept them from the Union 
artillery, and yet they would re-form and march up again to be swept back 
by the awful whirlwind of slaughter that opposed them. At sunset the battle 
ceased on this side of the triangle. The rocky eminence called Little Round 
Top had been the centre of the most determined struggle, and the Confed- 
erates endeavored to take it at any cost so that they could hurl the left wing- 
back on the centre. But the brave troops stationed there were as firm as the 
impenetrable granite, and held the position. The right and right centre 
were commanded by generals Slocum and Howard. The latter occupied 
Cemetery Hill, and the former Gulps Hill. Early and Johnson, of General 



502 OUR NATION: 

Ewell's corps of the Confederate army, fell with great vigor upon these points, 
and seemed determined to carry them at. all hazards. They were repulsed 
with great slaughter from the right centre on Cemetery Hill, but succeeded 
in turning the right wing, and holding it for the night. This struggle ended 
at ten o'clock at night. This day's fight had resulted in some advantage to 
the Confederates. Lee w^as sanguine that another day would bring a complete 
victory for the Confederate cause. That was an anxious night in many a 
Northern home, as millions of sleepless men and women were reading the 
swiftly flying news of the deadly encounter. 

The loss of Lee had been considerable, but the Union line was weakened, 
and an attack in the morning would sweep it from the field he thought. 
This was the hour of deepest gloom to the Union cause, and not a man from 
the Commander-in-chief down to the humblest private in the ranks but knew 
it. A million of brave men throughout the country were in arms, but the 
course of Lee's northward march could not be prevented if he won this 
decisive battle field. At four the next morning General Slocum advanced 
and re-occupied the ground he had lost the night before. Meade strength- 
ened his w^eakened lines. A hard fight of four hours was necessary to retrive 
the old position, and hold the persistent columns of Ewell in check. The 
Union left and left centre were impregnable, and Lee prepared to fall with 
crushing effect upon the weaker right. The entire forenoon was passed by 
the opposing generals in making preparation for the fearful death grapple. 
At one o'clock the artillery from Lee's army opened upon Howard's front. 
The challenge was answered by the Union army. The country for miles 
around was shaken by the thunder of over two hundred heavy guns. For 
three hours the awful duel was kept up, sending death and carnage to either 
side. Then Lee, under the cover of this heavy cannonading, precipitated his 
solid columns which were to break the Federal line and gain the day. They 
swept over the plain, and with the fearful yell of battle, attacked the breast- 
■works, only to be swept down by the grape and canister, belching forth from 
a hundred cannons. The ranks fell as grass before the mower's scythe; but 
on and on the gathering columns pressed, and the harvest of death ceased not 
till the sun went down. As men fell in the bloody contest their places were 
filled by those who pressed on after them, and brave men contended hand to 
Jiand. At one time Lee, who, like Napoleon at Waterloo, was watching the 
battle from a hill-top, saw through the lifting battle-cloud the Confederate flag 
waving on the Union ramparts at a certain point. His generals congratulated 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 503 

him on a victory; but he looks as another dense cloud of smoke lifts, and his 
men are seen broken and fleeing down the fatal hill-side, where dead men 
cover the ground so thick that the retreating army tread upon them at every 
step. This last attack has failed and the Nationals have won THE BATTLE 
OF Gettysburg. 

Lee began his hasty retreat on the fourth of July, and Meade, with his 
victorious but exhausted army, followed him in hot pursuit to the Potomac, 
where by fortifications and a show of force, Lee was able to hold the 
Nationals at bay until he had got his army and artillery safely across the 
river into Virginia. This was the last Confederate advance into the territory 
of the Northern States. 

The National Government now resolved to make one grand effort to sup- 
press the Confederacy. A call for men to fill up the army not meeting with 
so ready a response as the circumstances required, a draft was made upon 
able-bodied men between eighteen and forty-five. This gave rise to much 
dissatisfaction among the Peace Faction, and was the occasion of fearful riots 
in New York, and great destruction of life and property. These riots were 
put down by the police, aided by troops, and the draft went on. 

After his defeat at Gettysburg, Lee moved up the Shenandoah Valley, 
followed by Meade, in a parallel line on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, as 
McClellan had done in the opposite direction the previous year. There were 
skirmishes in the mountain passes. Lee gained a position in front of Meade 
between the Rappahannock and Rapid Anna Rivers. At the middle of Sep- 
tember Meade crossed the Rappahannock and drove Lee behind the Rapid 
Anna. There had been sharp cavalry skirmishes here and there whilst the 
two armies were resting. Finally, in October, Lee started for Washington, 
when another exciting race occurred between him and Meade. After a sharp 
battle at Bristow's Station, Meade drove Lee back to a strong position behind 
the Rapid Anna, and the National Army went into winter quarters. 

In the State of Tennessee there were some startling events during the 
summer and fall of 1863. In June, Rosecrans ordered an advance of his army 
in three divisions under Generals Thomas, McCook and Crittenden. The 
point to be reached from Murfreesborough w^as Chattanooga. On June 30th 
Bragg, who saw the design of Rosecrans, fled before him and passed over the 
'Cumberland Mountains. Rosecrans followed hard after him. Bragg reached 
the Tennessee River, and crossed it at Bridgeport, destroyed the bridges 
behind him and then hastened to Chattanooga. Rosecrans pursued Bragg as 



504 ■ OUR NATION: 

far as the base of the mountains; here he halted and rested for a whole' 
month. At the middle of August he surprised Bragg by appearing on his 
front, with a line extending along the Tennessee River from above Chatta- 
nooga, westward for a hundred miles, and poured shot and shell into the 
Confederate camp. 

Early in September, Thomas and McCook had crossed the Tennessee 
River, and by the 8th had secured the passes of Lookout Mountain, while- 
Crittenden was in Lookout Valley, near the river. When Bragg was informed 
of this, he abandoned Chattanooga to defend his line of communication, and 
Crittenden moved his forces into the Chattanooga Valley. Thus without a. 
battle the object of crossing the mountains was gained. Bragg had been 
driven from Middle Tennessee, and from his stronghold. Burnside crossed 
the mountains into East Tennessee with twenty thousand troops, and joined 
Rosecrans on the line of the railroad south-westerly from Loudon. 

Rosecrans thought Bragg was in full retreat and pushed forward to strike- 
his flank, but found him concentrated at Lafayette. About the middle of 
September the two armies were face to face on the Chickamauga Creek. A 
battle ensued and the Confederates won the closely contested field at a fear^ 
ful loss to themselves. Chattanooga was held by the Nationals, but they were 
hemmed in by Bragg and his army. The Government decided to hold this 
point, and ordered Generals Grant, Burnside and Rosecrans to concentrate- 
there. The Nationals were now threatened with famine, but General Hooker 
was sent from the army of the Potomac with the Eleventh and Twelfth 
Corps, Howard's and Slocum's, to hold the line of communication for Rose- 
crans. So the attempt of Bragg to starve out the Nationals in Chattanooga- 
failed. The Confederates had possession of Lookout Mountain, and swept 
down upon the Twelfth Corps October 28th-29th at midnight, but found the 
general upon the watch and they were repulsed. In the mean time Long- 
street had been sent into Tennessee to seize Knoxville and drive out the 
army of Burnside. He came swiftly and secretly, and Burnside was closely- 
besieged in a fortification near that city. 

Grant saw that he must attack Bragg at once upon the arrival of Sher- 
man's troops. Grant was determined to strike the centre of Bragg's army 
on Missionaries' Ridge and his right on Lookout Mountain. Thomas advanced 
to Orchard Knob, and fortified it November 23d. Hooker carried the works at 
the base of Lookout Mountain, and his victorious troops pressed up the sides. 
of the lofty eminence, which was hidden from sight by a heavy fog, and. 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 505 

'fought above the clouds. The Union armies in the valley below heard the 
cannonading and the shout of the charge, but could not see anything of 
what was being done until the fog cleared up, and showed Hooker in posses- 
sion of the mountain top. 

While Hooker was fighting above the clouds Sherman had successfully 
performed his part in the plan and secured a strong position on Missionaries' 
Ridge. In the night of November 24th Bragg retired from Lookout Moun- 
tain and concentrated all his forces on Missionaries' Ridge. The severe and 
desperate encounter of the 25th raged all day — Sherman, Thomas and 
Hooker all taking part, and at night the fires of the National army lighted up 
the whole length of Missionaries' Ridge and Bragg was in full retreat. Sher- 
man advanced to the relief of Burnside at Knoxville, and Longstreet was 
•compelled to raise the siege December 3d, and return to the army of Virginia. 
Sherman returned to Chattanooga and Burnside was left at Knoxville. So 
great was the rejoicing at these victories that President" Lincoln proclaimed 
a day of thanksgiving and praise, as he had done after the Union victory at 
Vicksburg and Gettysburg. 

Tiiere were military operations of some little account in North Carolina 
during the year, where General D. H. Hill had been sent by order of General 
Lee to harass the National troops, but the Union forces held the advantage 
gained and the State did not pass from their control. There was a most 
desperate attempt to capture Fort Sumter and Charleston, waging all the 
year, with repeated failures and discouragements. The harbor had been 
filled with the strongest obstacles in the form of torpedoes, heavy iron chains, 
sunken vessels and other impediments, and guarded by batteries of great 
strength. General Q. A. Gillmore was placed in command of the Union 
forces there June 12th, 1863, and Admiral Dupont was succeeded by Admiral 
Dahlgren July 6th. 

Active operations were commenced at once from Folly Island, held by the 
Union forces, against Morris Island. General Strong landed on the latter 
island July loth, and drove the Confederates to their fortification. Fort 
Wagner, but when he attacked them the next day he was repulsed with heavy 
loss. Gillmore began a siege of this fort, which continued until September 
6th, when the Confederates abandoned it, and at once the Nationals occupied 
Fort Wagner and Fort Gregg. Now they had full command of the city of 
Charleston, though at a great distance, and could send shot and shell into 
the streets of the doomed city. Fort Sumter was made a heap of shape- 



5o6 OUR NATION: 

less ruins in October by the heavy cannonading that Gillmore poured in 
upon it. 

There were some operations of more or less consequence beyond the 
Mississippi, inflicting some damages upon the National troops and stirring up 
the Indians against the United States. But these resulted in no very decided 
advantage to the Confederates, and at the close of 1863 all Texas west of the 
Colorado was in the possession of the Nationals. 

The finances of the United States were in a healthy condition. In spite 
of the enormous debt, constantly increasing, the public credit never stood 
higher, while the Confederate States were in a most deplorable financial 
situation. Their war debt was as large as that of the National government and 
credit was wanting. They were forced to seize supplies for their army, and 
in order to keep their ranks full, they passed a most severe conscription act, 
calling out every available man for military service, " robbing the cradle and 
the grave." 

THE MILITARY OPERATIONS OF 1864. 

The Congress of the United States in the opening of this year saw that 
there had been some radical trouble in the management of the conflict, and 
came to the conclusion to put some one man in command of the entire force 
of the Government and make him responsible for the conduct of the war. 
Hitherto there had been, at times, a conflict of authority, and different gen- 
erals had been working upon opposing theories, and this had been the prolific 
cause of delays and reverses. Now a new rank was created by law, and U. 
S. Grant was commissioned Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-chief of all 
the United States forces. He believed that the surest way to end the war, and 
in the long run save human life, was to strike decisive and heavy blows and 
follow them up with hard fighting. He would make war with the horrible 
intention of killing men and ending the contest as quickly as possible. Two 
expeditions were formed, one having the capture of Atlanta, Georgia, and 
the other, that of Richmond, in view. For the first he put General W. T. 
Sherman in chief command, and for the second. General G.G. Meade. The 
task of the latter was to beat the army of General Lee, and the former the 
army of Johnston. These were now the chief armies of the Confederacy, and 
upon their destruction hung the issue of the war. 

The year 1864 began with a series of reverses in the extreme South and 
South-west. The capture of Fort Pillow and the treacherous massacre of its 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 507 

garrison by General Forrest, in April, was a foul blot upon the civilization of 
the age. He sent a flag of truce demanding the surrender of the fort, and 
while it was under consideration secretly arranged his forces to fall upon it 
unexpectedly. This was done with the cry " No quarter," when a large 
number who threw down their arms were butchered in cold blood. Forrest 
said in self-defense : " War means fight and fight means kill — we want but 
few prisoners." General Banks was sent up the Red River upon a disastrous 
expedition. Missouri was invaded by a large force, which caused considerable 
trouble throughout the summer and was not driven out until November. 
Arkansas had come under the control of the Confederates, and the Union 
citizens who had been making preparations to return the State government 
to its allegiance to the Union, were silenced. The operations in Charleston 
Harbor were being carried on slowly. East Tennessee was the scene of 
stirring events of minor importance, but the country turned from all these to 
the more sanguinary and gigantic operations in Virginia and Georgia. 

Some movements were undertaken in the early spring of 1864, with the 
design of capturing Richmond and releasing the Union prisoners in Libby 
Prison and on Belle Isle. In February, General B. F. Butler sent fifteen 
hundred troops against Richmond, but his design was frustrated by treachery. 
Later than this General Kilpatrick swept around Lee's right flank with five 
thousand cavalry and penetrated the outer defenses of Richmond, but was 
compelled to retire March ist. Another part of the same command was able 
to enter the lines at another point, but were driven back with the loss of 
Colonel Dahlgren and ninety men. General Custer, with a considerable force, 
threatened to cut Lee's communications with the Shenandoah Valley. These 
operations were preparatory to the execution of General Grant's far greater 
plans. 

The mistaken opinions in the early part of the war had been corrected 
by bitter experience, and the North and South were alike aware that the 
fight must wage to the end. A well-tried general, in whom the whole North 
had confidence, had assumed command. The volunteer army was no longer 
a mass of citizen militia, but hardened veterans of battle, inured to heavy 
marching and heavy fighting. The spirit of the North was resolute and as 
determined as ever. Grant had his headquarters with the army of the 
Potomac, which had been re-organized and formed into three corps, the 
Second Corps under General Hancock, the Fifth in command of General 
Warren, and the Sixth with the gallant Sedgwick at its head. General Burn- 



5o8 OUR NATION: 

side with the Ninth Corps, which had been filled up by recruits and thoroughly- 
reconstructed during the winter, was attached to the army of the Potomac. 
General Grant ordered Meade in Virginia and Sherman in Georgia to advance 
at the beginning of May. We will follow the fortunes of the first. 

On the 4th of May the army of the Potomac was led into the region 
'.known as the Wilderness, to attack the Confederates who were intrenched on 
Mine Run. A fearful carnage in that trackless and tangled country ensued 
for two days; Lee's front could not be carried, and his flank must be turned 
if possible. General Warren led the movement out of the Wilderness with 
the Fifth Corps on May 8th, and came to the open country at Spottsylvania, 
where he found a part of Lee's army posted across his path, and the rest of 
the force rapidly concentrating there. The flanking movement had been ex- 
pected by Lee, and he was ready to meet it. On the 9th, General Sedgwick 
was killed while superintending the arrangement of a battery. The battle 
opened on the loth, and was contested with fearful loss on both sides. On the 
iith Grant sent his famous dispatch to Washington, ^^ I intend to figJit it out 
on this line if it takes all summer." On the 12th Hancock broke Lee's line 
and gained a decided advantage, but the following night the Confederate 
army silently withdrew behind this second line of intrenchments and w^as as 
strong as ever. Another flank movement was impending, and Lee made an 
attack to prevent it on May 19th and was repulsed. While these operations 
were going on. General Sheridan made a raid upon Lee's rear with a large 
force of cavalry, and came to within a few miles of Richmond, destroying rail- 
roads and military supplies. General Sigel was in the Shenandoah and Kana- 
wha valleys, and had a fight at New Market May 15th, in which the Confed- 
erates gained the day. 

General Butler with the army of the James had left Fortress Monroe 
with twenty-five thousand troops in transports, followed by Admiral Lee 
with gun-boats, and they took possession of both sides of the river as far as 
City Point by the aid of fifteen hundred mounted men, who had forded the 
Chickahominy and taken their position on the James opposite City Point. 
This was done with but little fighting, for there were few Confederates there. 
Butler fortified Bermuda Hundred and intended to cut communication between 
Petersburg and Richmond. The former city could have been easily taken, 
but for some reason it was not accomplished, and the Confederates from 
South Carolina hastened there to aid in its defense. Beauregard got into 
Petersburg before the railroad was destroyed, and on the morning of May 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 509 

16th attacked Butler's right, and after a sharp fight drove his army into their 
intrenchments. At the same instant a charge on Butler's front was repulsed. 
For several days there was much fighting all along his lines. 

Grant's army was moving by the left flank, but Lee had the inside line of 
the parallel circles on the road to Richmond and consequently was able to 
move faster than his antagonist. A heavy battle was fought at the North 
Anna River. Grant was satisfied that he could not carry the strong position 
•of Lee, and again resumed his march by the left flank. On the 26th of May 
the whole army was south of the Pamunkey River. Lee was again in a 
fortified position and a heavy battle ensued. " By the left flank " again came 
the order, and the army moved to Cool Arbor. Ten thousand men from 
General Butler's army under command of General W. F. Smith re-enforced 
the army of Meade, and he made an advance upon the enemy in front. The 
fight here on June 3d was bloody and short. In twenty minutes the Union 
army lost ten thousand men and only succeeded in holding their own position. 
The line of Lee's army could not be broken. Other attempts to force the 
lines the next day met with similar results, but all the while the Union forces 
were moving by the left flank and on June 7th rested on the Chickahominy. 
Sheridan crossed the river with his cavalry and tore up the railroads and 
bridges. The whole army moved across the river to Lee's right and crossed 
the James June 14th and 15th. Butler made an unsuccessful attempt to take 
Petersburg before aid could arrive from Richmond. The failure to accom- 
plish this disarranged the plans somewhat, and caused the long and exhaus- 
tive siege of both cities which lasted for ten months. Grant established his 
head-quarters at City Point, and on the i6th preparations were made to carry 
the city of Petersburg by assault. Warren, Hancock and Burnside made a 
■desperate attack on the lines here, but it was evident that the whole army of 
Lee was south of the James. The assaults of the Union army on the 17th 
and i8th of June resulted in some advantage to the Nationals, but it was 
plain that the time to take Petersburg by direct advance was past. 

An attempt was now made on the right of the Confederate army to cut 
the Weldon Railroad and turn Lee's flank. The railroad was destroyed as 
far as Ream's Station. The besieging lines of Meade's and Butler's army 
extended from City Point and Bermuda Hundred to the Weldon Railroad, 
partly around Petersburg and toward Richmond. A disastrous attempt to 
break the Confederate lines at Petersburg was made on the 30th of July by 
exploding a mine under a fort at the outpost of the line. This proved a 



5IO OUR NATION: 

heavy disaster to the Contederate army, in which about three thousand troops 
were lost. September 29th Butler stormed and carried the strongest works on 
Lee's left, known as Fort Harrison. On October 27th an attempt was made 
to extend the Union lines to Hatcher's Run, but after heavy fighting the 
National troops were obliged to retire to their fortifications in front of Peters- 
burg. Here they settled down for a winter's siege of that city. From the 
opening of the campaign in May to the ist of November the Nationals had 
lost in killed, wounded, prisoners and missing, the enormous number of one 
hundred thousand men. 

There were exciting times in the Shenandoah Valley in the summer and 
early fall of 1864. A Union army had encountered a Confederate force at 
Winchester on July 20th and defeated it, taking many prisoners and supplies. 
General Early was in full force up the valley, and so sanguine was he that 
he sent an invading force of cavalry into Maryland, who burned the city of 
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Sheridan was sent into the Shenandoah valley 
with thirty thousand troops to attack the Confederates. By a series of the 
most brilliant and dashing operations and unexpected movements, Sheridan 
sent them " whirling up the valley." There was a battle at Winchester, in 
which Early was driven to his strong position at Fisher's Hill on September 
19th. He was forced from the new position the 21st and fled to the moun- 
tains. Early had less than one-half the men now that came with him into the 
valley, Sheridan had his position at Cedar Creek near Strasburg, and Early, 
who had been re-enforced heavily, now came with crushing effect upon the 
Union army at a time when Sheridan was " twenty miles away." Their 
lines were driven back in great confusion. The Eleventh Corps were not 
able to withstand the fierce onslaught of Early's men. Sheridan hastened to 
the scene of battle, reformed the broken lines, and riding along the regiments 
and brigades with cheers encouraged his men, regained the lost ground, and 
sent the Confederates in hopeless flight up the Shenandoah. Early's army 
was nearly annihilated and Lee could spare no more men for it. This ended 
the contest for the fertile valley which had been overrun so often by the 
opposing forces. Sheridan had burned and destroyed on every hand — such 
was the stern necessity of war — and the Confederates could no more gain 
the abundant supplies which they had found in the rich valley, and which for 
years had been the store-house of their armies. 

At the beginning of May, (1864) when General Grant ordered the two 
great armies to move, Sherman was at Chattanooga with about one hundred 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 511 

thousand men. His antagonist was General E. Joseph Johnston, with fifty-five 
thousand troops, who was at Dalton, strongly intrenched. Sherman's plan 
was to move by the left flank and compel the Confederates to abandon one 
strong position after another in order to save their army. A sharp fight 
took place at Resaca Station May 15th, which drove Johnston across the 
Oostenaula. The Union army closely followed in three divisions. At Adairs- 
ville, Johnston made a stand, but when the Nationals advanced he pushed 
on and fortified a position commanding the Altoona Pass. After resting a 
little Sherman moved forward to the right, and had a severe contest May 
25th. This was a drawn battle, without advantage to either side. June rst, 
Johnston was forced to abandon the Altoona Pass. Sherman took possession 
of this and made it a second base of supplies by repairing the railroad to 
Chattanooga. He here received reinforcements. On June 9th he took 
possession of Big Shanty, and by persistency and frequent fighting forced! 
Johnston to give up Pine Mountain June 15th, Lost Mountain June 17th, and! 
Kenesaw Mountain July 2d. On the morning of July 3d the stars and; 
stripes waved over the last-mentioned mountain, and Sherman rode in triumph 
into Marietta, close upon the heels of Johnston's army. The Confederates 
succeeded in crossing the river here before Sherman could give them a crush- 
ing blow. Johnston was obliged to retreat (July lOth) toward Atlanta,, 
Georgia. He fortified his army on a line covering that town from the Chat- 
tahooche River to Peachtree Creek. He knew that his force was less thaa 
that of the Nationals, and therefore he preferred to save his army rather than 
to risk an engagement. He had had already a number of severe encounters, 
and had been worsted in them all. 

General Johnston was now relieved of the command of the Confederate 
army, and succeeded by General Hood. The former was a cautious, scientific 
soldier, while the latter was a dashing, reckless officer, who did not care for 
the loss of men if he could make quick work. On July i6th, General Rous- 
seau, with two thousand cavalry, joined Sherman. On the 19th, all the Union 
forces were across the river. A flank movement was made to cut the railroad 
leading to Augusta. This was accomplished. On the 20th, Hood attacked the 
weakened lines in front, but was repulsed with heavy loss. On the 22d, the 
Confederate ^lines on the heights about Peachtree Creek were abandoned, and 
Sherman thought that Hood, like Johnston, had evacuated the city, and con- 
sequently moved his army rapidly toward Atlanta. He found Hood in a 
strong line of works near the city, which had been built the year before. 



512 OUR NATION: 

Preparations were made for carrying the city by assault, when a large part of 
Hood's army, which had gained Sherman's rear in the night, fell upon him, 
and a most sanguinary and hotly contested battle raged for four hours. The 
Union army was successful, and the Confederates were driven back to their 
breastworks. On July 28th, Hood made another attack upon Sherman but 
was replused with heavy loss, and seeing that the Unionists were gradually 
getting possession of all the railroads leading from the city, after a month of 
countermaneuvering the Confederate general abandoned Atlanta, having 
destroyed all factories, warehouses and whatever would be of advantage to 
the enemy. He left no food for the inhabitants, who were on the point of 
starvation. Sherman took possession, and not being able to feed the citizens 
and his own army, humanely ordered all non-combatants to leave the city, 
either for the North or South, as they might choose. He furnished trans- 
portation for all who wished to go to Chattanooga. 

Hood, after leaving Atlanta, moved upon Sherman's base of supplies at 
Altoona Pass, and threatened the small force there. Sherman sent a force 
to their assistance, and drove the army of Hood with great slaughter. Then 
he returned to Atlanta with all his troops, destroying all founderies, dis- 
mantling the railroads, and preparing to cut loose from his base of supplies. 
His army numbered sixty-five thousand men of all kinds. He cut the wires 
which connected him with the North, and started on his grand march to the 
sea. The people in the North did not hear from him for some time except 
through the newspapers of the South, and this was far from being reliable. 
His army was divided into two great columns; one under General O. O. 
Howard, the other under General W. H. Slocum, with the cavalry in com- 
•mand of General Kilpatrick. Nothing was heard from this army until De- 
cember 13th, when it appeared near Savannah and captured Fort McAllister, 
on the Ogeechee River, not far from that city. Savannah was invested at 
once, and on the 20th, Hardee evacuated it and fled to Charleston with fifty 
thousand troops. The army of Georgia entered the city the next day and 
there rested, after a march of two hundred and fifty-five miles, inflicting very 
heavy loss upon the Confederates and sustaining but little loss in return. 

Some active measures were going on in Florida and North Carolina dur- 
ing this time, but the most interest was centered upon the two grand armies. 
In September and October there were some interesting events, and after 
•considerable skirmishing on both sides there was a general engagement at 
Pranklin, a few miles south of Nashville, in which the Confederate forces at 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 513 

first drove their antagonists from their breastworks, and were in turn driven 
back; Hood, the Confederate general, lost three thousand men. On the 15th 
of December, a desperate battle was fought in front of Nashville, where 
Hood was besieging the Nationals under General Thomas. The attack was 
opened by Thomas, who drove the Confederates from their works and pursued, 
them out of the State. The campaign ended with complete success for the 
Union army. 

The Anglo-Confederate privateers were doing immense damage to 
American commerce in various parts of the world. The chief depredator was- 
the Alabama^ in command of a former United States navy oflficer, Captain: 
Raphael Semmes. The English also built for the Confederates the Florida,. 
Georgia, Tallahassee, Olustee and Chickamaiiga, all of which committed great 
depredations upon the vessels and cargoes of American ship owners. This 
drove a large part of our maritime commerce to seek the protection of for- 
eign flags. A stupendous effort was made to capture and destroy these 
cruisers. The Georgia was captured off the coast of Lisbon in August, 1864, 
by the United States vessel Niagara; the Florida by the Wac/msett, October 
T 7th, in a port of Brazil. The Alabama had been sunk some time before this 
by the Kearsarge. Captain Semmes was rescued from capture by a British 
vessel which was conveniently near at hand, but the " common people " were 
left to drown or be picked up by the American vessel and a Frenchman. 
This had occurred on Sunday, June 19th. 

Admiral Farragut had captured the port of Mobile with a fleet of eigh- 
teen vessels aided by a land force under General Gordon Granger. This fleet 
passed between the two forts (Morgan and Gaines), at the entrance to Mobile 
Bay, lashed together in pairs, on August 5th, 1864. It was in this engage- 
ment that the brave admiral was lashed to the rigging of his flag-ship. The' 
Confederate ram Tennessee was destroyed and a complete victory gained. 
The forts were surrendered after cannonading and siege, Fort Gaines on the 
7th and Fort Morgan on the 23d of August. The port of Mobile was closed. 

We will turn for a brief space from the consideration of military to politic 
cal affairs. The National Republican party had met in a convention at 
Baltimore, in June, and nominated Mr. Lincoln for re-election, affirmed its 
determination to maintain the Union and the policy of his administration, 
and pledged themselves to sustain it to the end. Andrew Johnson was nom- 
inated for the Vice-Presidency. 

On August 29th delegates of the opposition or " Democratic " party met 



514 OUR NATION: 

in Convention at Chicago, and displayed an intense anti-war feeling. General 
George B. McClellan was nominated for the Presidency and George H. Pen- 
dleton for Vice-President. The resolution that declared the war a failure was 
scarcely #dry upon the paper before the people of the United States were 
called to devote a day to thanksgiving and praise for the victories of Sher- 
man and Farragut. The election resulted in the most overwhelming majorities 
for Lincoln and Johnson. Only the three States of Delaware, Kentucky and 
New Jersey gave their votes to the opposition. 

THE CLOSING EVENTS OF THE WAR— 1865. 

The year that saw the closing operations of the civil strife had come, 
and General Sherman, after giving his gallant army a rest of more than a 
month, at Savannah, started for a march into the interior. On the 17th of 
February, 1865, he captured Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. Wade 
Hampton had ordered all the cotton in that city to be piled in the public 
square and burned. In the strong wind which was then blowing the burning 
cotton set the city on fire and destroyed it in part. 

Sherman had now flanked the city of Charleston, which so long had with- 
stood the rhost persistent siege, and in consequence the Confederates aban- 
doned it. Hardee fled from the city and the United States colored troops 
marched in and raised the stars and stripes upon the public buildings on 
February 19th. Sherman pressed onward to North Carolina, leaving a track 
of destruction forty miles wide, until he came to Fayetteville, March 12th, 
-where he found the concentrated Confederate forces under Johnston, num- 
bering forty thousand. Sherman here halted three days for rest. After de- 
stroying the Confederate armory and the military stores, he marched on in 
two columns, as when in Georgia. The column under Slocum had a severe 
ifight at Averysborough with Hardee's force of twenty thousand men, and 
won the victory, March i6th. Slocum marched on towards Goldsboro', and 
was attacked by Johnston, whom he repulsed near Bentonville, March i8th. 
Johnston had fully expected to crush Slocum before the main body could 
come to his aid, but that commander held his ground firmly, and after six 
desperate attempts to drive him back, Johnston gave up the contest at night 
•fall. The next morning, the 19th, there were sixty thousand Nationals in 
front of Johnston when the latter retreated. Sherman's whole army soon 
reached Goldsboro', the point for which they had started. Sherman then 



1 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 515 

hastened to City Point to confer with Grant and Meade, and returned to his 
command three days later. Here we will leave him for awhile. 

After closing the port of Mobile, the only harbor left to which blockade- 
runners could gain access was that of Wilmington, N. C, on the Cape Fear 
River. Near the close of 1864 a land and naval force was sent against Fort 
Fisher at the mouth of the Cape Fear, with a view to closing the port of 
Wilmington. The fleet was commanded by Admiral D. D. Porter, and was 
accompanied by General B. F. Butler with land troops. The attack 
•was unsuccessful. Another attack by Porter and General Terry, early in 1865, 
resulted in the capture of the Fort and the closing the port of Wilmington 
against blockade runners. In the Gulf Department the fleet of Farragut had 
prepared the way for the fall of Mobile, which was accomplished on April 
20, 1865. What were the army of the Potomac and General Lee's forces do- 
ing all this while ? Let us see. 

Grant was holding Petersburg and Richmond in a vise-like grip, which 
prevented Lee from going to the assistance of Johnston. He dared not send 
him any men, for in so doing he would weaken the defense of the Confederate 
capital. The besiegers were pounding away with shot and shell upon the 
fortifications around the doomed cities, daily extending the cordon of diffi- 
culties, and cutting one after another of the railroads which brought food to 
them. About the end of February, Sheridan with ten thousand cavalry left 
his quarters in the Shenandoah Valley and sweeping through Staunton on 
March 2d scattered Early's forces at W^aynesborough and destroyed the rail- 
road as far as Charlotteville, then dividing into two columns, one to destroy the 
railroad toward Lynchburg, and the other to destroy the James River Canal. 
Accomplishing this, he swept around Lee's left and joined the army of the 
Potomac March 27th. 

Lee now made a desperate attempt to break through Grant's lines and 
join Johnston. A most desperate assault was made March 27th upon Fort 
Steadman, in front of Petersburg, held by the Ninth Corps. The Confed- 
erates captured the fort and held it about four hours; then it was recaptured 
by the Nationals, and Lee's last chance to break the Union lines was gone. 
The Union troops were nearer the city at night than when the attack was 
inade in the morning, 

A grand movement was begun on March 29th by General Sheridan with 
ten thousand cavalry, the Fifth Corps under Warren, and the Second under 
Hancock, while the Ninth, under Parke, held the long line of breast-works. 



5i6 OUR NATION: 

Lee saw his peril and made great haste to avert it it possible, but his army- 
was disheartened by the hard work of the winter, the want of supplies, and 
the loss of all hope. A heavy fight ensued at Five Forks, in which Sheridan 
was forced back on Dinwiddle Court House, but held his ground (April ist, 
1865). On the evening of the same day a continuous and concentrated can- 
nonade was opened upon Petersburg all along the line, and at early dawn of 
the 2d a part of the works was carried. The left had been successful, and 
when General Longstreet came down from Richmond to aid Lee he was too 
late to be of any service. Lee sent word to President Jefferson Davis: " My 
lines are broken in three places; we can hold Petersburg no longer: Rich- 
mond must be evacuated this evening." Davis and his cabinet fled to Dans- 
ville, where Lee hoped to join him, but Sheridan was in the way at Amelia 
Court House. Lee endeavored to escape and did some heavy fighting in the 
desperation of despair, but on the 9th of April, after one final charge to 
break the National lines at Appomattox Court House, he sent a flag of truce 
with an offer of surrender. Grant and Lee met under an apple tree on the 
grounds of W. McLean to make generous terms of surrender. 

Mr. Lincoln went to Richmond on April 4th, and was enthusiasticall)^ 
received by the ofificers high in rank, and the colored people, and then re- 
turned to Washington happy that the cruel war was over. On the evening of 
the 14th, while the patient man who had endured the most fearful strain of 
these anxious years, was quietly sitting in a private box in a public place of 
amusement at the National Capital, he was shot by an assassin, who entered 
from behind and deliberately aimed his revolver at his unsuspecting victim. 
John Wilkes Booth, a play-actor of moderate ability, and a warm secessionist,, 
was the actor in this diabolical crime. The Confederate government were 
not responsible for the act, much less the brave men who had contested so 
many hard fought battles with the North. No man was found to openly 
applaud the act save here and there a solitary voice in the North, which was 
quickly hushed by the intense popular excitement of the times. Andrew 
Johnson took the oath of ofifice as Presiient, April 15, 1865, and entered at 
once upon the discharge of his duties. After some active operations in 
North Carolina General Johnston asked for an armistice, proposing to refer 
the matter of settlement of grievances to General Grant. The armistice was 
granted on the 14th day of April, but the idea that the defeated chieftain 
should dictate terms caused Grant to order a resumption of hostilities on the 
26th. This was followed by the surrender of Johnston on the same generous 



d 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 517 

terms that had been given General Lee. Jefferson Davis attempted to escape 
from the country. The fugitive President of the Confederacy was captured 
at Irwinsville, Georgia, May nth, and sent to Fortress Monroe, and there 
he was treated with marked kindness, until he was released under bail placed 
at one million dollars. 

Lieutenant-General Grant issued a patriotic and stirring farewell address 
to the " Soldiers of the Armies of the United States," on June 2d, 1865. The 
military prisons, where tens of thousands of Confederate prisoners of war 
were held for exchange, were opened and the men were sent to their homes 
at Government expense. The millions of liberated blacks were cared for by 
Government ; and the people, happy that peace had again dawned upon the 
distracted country, were loud in their demonstrations of joy. 

The most brilliant pageantry of modern times was held in Washington, 
consisting of a grand review of the Union armies of the Potomac and of the 
James, and of Sherman's army. This lasted two days, and then the task of 
disbanding the mighty Union army began. The rolls were made out, the arms 
were stacked, the artillery parked, and flags were furled. In an incredibly 
short time the hundreds of thousands of boys in blue had donned the garb 
of private citizens and returned to the avocations of peace. The great work 
of putting down armed resistance to the Government had been accomplished, 
and now the peaceful question of regulating the commercial, political and 
social relations of the States late in arms would be settled in the halls of 
Congress. 

REORGANIZATION AND PROGRESS. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 

What was the position of those States which had passed the ordinances 
of secession ? The war had closed, but it had been maintained by the North 
that the States were all the while an integral part of the Union and had no 
power to dissolve their allegiance to it. What was to be done ? Should their 
territory be held as if it had been conquered from a foe ? They had en- 
deavored to sever the bonds that bound them to the Government, but had 
been prevented by the firm hand of armed law. They now claimed the right 
to resume their old places in Congress as if they had never attempted to 
secede. What should be done ? The Proclamation of Emancipation had 
given freedom only to those slaves whose masters were in arms on the first 



5i8 OUR NATION: 

day of January, 1863. There were many others whose owners could hold 
them under that proclamation, but many of the slave States soon removed 
this impediment of their own account. Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee, 
Missouri and Arkansas had abolished it within their borders. An amend- 
ment to the Constitution of the United States had been submitted to the 
several States and adopted, in 1865, by more than the required number to 
make it a part of that instrument. 

Another amendment was submitted to the States, giving the fullest rights 
of American citizenship to all native-born and naturalized citizens of the 
United States. This was made the condition for the restoration of rights to 
those men who were seeking to return to their old position of citizenship. 
The questions growing out of all this state of affairs were most delicate, and 
required the careful consideration of patriots; but the institution which had 
caused all the controversy of the past, all the bloodshed and ruin which had 
come to both sections of the country, must be thoroughly eradicated now, 
and leave no seeds to spring up in after years. So the men who had won the 
fight thought, and the men who had yielded " to the stern necessity of war " 
came to accept the situation with what grace they could, and slowly the 
work went on to its completion. 

On April 29th, 1865, President Johnson issued a proclamation removing 
•certain restrictions on commercial intercourse with the Southern States. 
On May 20th provisional governors were appointed for the States of North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. An 
•order for rescinding the blockade was issued the 23d of June, another to still 
further remove the restriction on inter-state commerce August 29th. State 
prisoners were released October 12th. The privilege of the Writ of Habeas 
Corpus was restored December ist. 

The provisional governors in the States, who were anxious to do all that 
could be done to reorganize their Commonwealth, called conventions of dele- 
gates, chosen by citizens, who could take the oath required by the act of Con- 
gress. Before the session of Congress had met in December five States had 
ratified the proposed amendment to the Constitution, formed new State Con- 
stitutions, and provided for Representatives to Congress. 

When Congress met there arose at once a conflict between the President 
and the Legislative Department. This breach widened until it became an 
open rupture. The Cabinet resigned, with the exception of the Secretary of 
War, E. M. Stanton, who was advised to remain by his friends. On April 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 519 

2d, 1866, the Executive issued his proclamation declaring that the civil war 
was at an end. Tennessee was finally restored to the Union July 23d. 

The Emperor of the French had subverted the Republic of Mexico, and 
by military power had placed and supported on a throne Maximilian, an 
archduke of Austria, as Emperor of that dominion. On the 5th of April, 
1866, our Government informed the French Emperor that the continuation 
of the French troops in Mexico was objectionable, and at once the assurance 
came that they would be withdrawn. 

The elections throughout the Northern States showed that the people 
sustained the policy of Congress. The act conferring the elective franchise 
upon all citizens in the District of Columbia was passed December 14th. 
"This was vetoed by the President, but passed over his veto by more than a 
two-thirds vote, January 7th, 1867. The same day the preliminary steps 
were taken for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United 
.States, which resulted in a trial before the Senate, with the Chief Justice 
presiding, in May, 1868. 

The territory of Nebraska was admitted into the Union as a State on 
March ist, 1867. There was intense excitement over several bills which the 
President vetoed and which Congress at once passed over his veto. The 
thirty-ninth Congress closed its session March 3d and the fortieth Congress 
met at once. This Congress adjourned on March 31st, to meet on the first 
Wednesday in July. This was done, and then the two Houses adjourned, 
July 20th, to meet again on November 21st. In the mean time the President 
.attempted to remove E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, who refused to resign. 
■General Grant was ordered to assume the ofifice, which he did, and held it a 
short time. The controversy went on until the impeachment of the President. 
The trial lasted from March 5th to April 26th, when he escaped conviction 
by only one vote. Two-thirds of all the votes cast are required to convict. 
Every member was present. Thirty-five voted guilty and nineteen voted not 
guilty. 

The Secretary of State certified to the fact that the required number of 
States had adopted the XlVth amendment to the Constitution conferring 
civil rights upon all citizens, without regard to race or color. 

The work of reorganization was now completed in all the States save 
three, and the people of the South were betaking themselves to the task of 
retrieving their ruined fortunes, and thus comparative quiet was restored. 

An important treaty with China was ratified by Congress before its ad- 



520 OUR NATION: 

journment. The Indian question had caused some discussion, and an attempt 
to transfer the conduct of these affairs to the War Department failed. 

A fifteenth amendment was proposed by Congress February 26th, 1869, 
and submitted to the States, the requisite number of which ratified it soon 
afterwards. 

General U. S. Grant was chosen President of the United States, and 
Schuyler Colfax Vice-President, at the election of 1868, and on the 4th of 
March, 1869, took the oath of ofifice and entered upon the discharge of their 
duties. 

ADMINISTRATION OF ULYSSES S. GRANT. 

President Grant entered upon the task of finishing the incomplete 
work of reconstruction at once, and sent a special message to Congress April 
7th, 1869, in which he urged that body to adopt and maintain such measures 
as would effectually secure the civil and political rights of all persons within 
the borders of the States not yet in full relations to the Union. Both th'e 
Executive and Legislative Departments took every means in their pov/er 
consistent with the provisions of the amended Constitution to restore the 
people, who were not yet represented in the National Congress, to this posi- 
tion. This was finally accomplished in 1872, when, on the 23d day of Ma^, 
every seat that had been abdicated in 1861 by members from the Southern. 
States was filled by legally elected members. On May 22d a general Amnesty 
Bill was passed by Congress, removing the disabilities imposed by the Four- 
teenth Amendment from all persons, with the exceptions of those who had 
held positions in the National Government, the diplomatic corps, and the army 
and navy of the United States during the administration of James Buchanan. 
The political unity of the whole country was now established by law, and the 
rights of American citizenship were conferred upon all native-born and 
naturalized persons within the borders of the United States, with the excep- 
tion of the comparative few mentioned above. 

The last tie which completed the railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
was laid May loth, 1869, and marked an important event in the social and 
commercial life of the United States. By this the States on the eastern sea- 
board and the distant Pacific coasts were brought together, and a grand high- 
way opened to facilitate the overland trade from China and Japan. There 
was a general rejoicing as the last spike was driven, for communication was 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 521 

made with the entire telegraph system of the country, and the blows of the 
hammer were recorded in the telegraph ofifices in all parts of the land. 

An extensive insurrection arose in Cuba with which many citizens of the 
United States were in close sympathy, but the Government wisely main- 
tained neutrality, and measures were taken to suppress all fillibustering. A 
number of gunboats ordered by the Spanish Government were detained in 
the United States on suspicion that they were to be used against Peru. They 
were released. There arose much excitement (and war was threatened) 
growing out of the seizure of the steamship Virginius in Cuba while flying 
the American flag, under the belief that she was bringing arms and supplies 
to the Cuban insurgents. A number of her passengers and her captain were 
shot by the Spanish authorities. The whole matter was finally settled by 
diplomacy. The Virginius was sunk at sea while being conveyed to the 
United States in a gale off Cape Fear. 

There was a violation of the neutrality laws in 1870 by a large band of 
Irishmen known as Fenians, who assembled to the number of three thousand 
on the borders of Canada in the State of Vermont. They invaded that 
province with the intention of freeing Ireland by some vague plan. The two 
governments suppressed the trouble, and our adopted Irish citizens have not 
since then attempted to violate the neutrality laws in force between the two 
countries. 

The United States had long desired some territory in the West Indies, 
and in 1869 a treaty was made with Hayti by which that island was to be 
annexed to the United States; but the Senate did not ratify it, and thus the 
rnovement in that direction ceased to be a government measure. The survey 
of a proposed inter-oceanic canal across the Isthmus of Darien was made 
by an exploration under Commander Self ridge in 1870. 

In the year 1871 two of the most destructive fires that ever visited this 
country amounting to a national calamity occurred. In October of that year 
the greater portion of Chicago was swept by the flames, which raged for forty- 
eight hours and devastated two thousand .acres of territory and destroyed 
two hundred million dollars' worth of property. This disaster called forth 
the sympathy and material aid of the civilized and commercial world. The 
next month, November, the fire-fiend swept away the very center of Boston, 
destroying seventy-five million dollars worth of property. 

President Grant found at the opening of his first term of ofifice the ques- 
tion of the Alabama claims an open one with the English Government. A 



522 OUR NATION: 

joint commission was proposed by the United States, and England agreed tc 
it. This "joint high commission " met at Washington May 8th, 1871, and 
completed a treaty referring the whole matter at issue to a court of arbitra- 
tion. 

This treaty was at once ratified by both countries. There were four im- 
portant questions involved: ist. The settlement of all claims by either 
government growing out of losses sustained during the Civil War. 2d. The 
permanent settlement of the American coast fisheries. 3d. The free naviga- 
tion of certain rivers, including the St. Lawrence, and, 4th. The settlement 
of the boundary between Vancouver's Island and the mainland on the Pacific 
coast. The first question was referred to a tribunal of arbitration, which met 
at Geneva, Switzerland, December 15th, 1871, and adjourned to June 15th, 
1872. The final meeting of this tribunal was held September 14th, 1872. By 
their award Great Britain was to pay to the United States the sum of fifteen 
million five hundred thousand dollars in gold, as an award for losses sustained 
by the depredations of the Alabama and other British-built privateers during 
the Civil War. The money was paid the following year. The fourth ques- 
tion was referred to the Emperor of Germany, who decided in favor of the 
United States, giving to that Republic the island of San Juan, which had 
been in dispute. 

The other important measures and events of General Grant's first term 
were the adoption of weather signals by means of the Morse telegraph under 
control of the National Signal Service. This has proved of inestimable value 
to American commerce and agriculture. The apportionment of representa- 
tives to Congress, by which there was one representative to every one hundred 
and thirty-seven thousand eight hundred population, making two hundred 
and eighty-three members in all. A new pension law was passed in aid of all 
Union soldiers who had suffered the loss of limbs or health in the late war. 
Early in 1873 the franking privilege was abolished, by which much money 
was saved to the Post-Ofifice Department. In 1872 an important embassy of 
twenty-one officials of the Chinese Government visited the United States, 
and the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia also came to this country. Steps were 
taken to celebrate the centennial anniversary of American independence, 
which would occur in 1876, by a display at Philadelphia of the industries of 
all nations. 

The political campaign of 1872 was begun in May by the nomination of 
Horace Greeley for President and B. Gratz Brown for Vice-President by a 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 523. 

convention of "liberal Republicans." The Democratic party coalesced with 
them and ratified the same nominations on July 9th. The Republicans re- 
nominated General Grant for President and Henry Wilson for Vice-President 
June 5th. The election resulted in retaining General Grant for a second 
term and making Mr. Wilson Vice-President. 

The relation of the troublesome Mormon question to the general govern- 
ment agitated the public mind to some extent during this time. The system 
of polygamy was strongly intrenched in the very heart of the Continent, and 
a petition signed by twenty-five hundred women of Utah in its favor was 
presented to Congress. The elective franchise had been given to the female 
sex, and out of a large vote in favor of a State Constitution nearly one-half 
of the ballots were cast by women. There had been population enough in 
Utah for some time to constitute a State, but Congress refused to admit it 
with the system of polygamy. 

The second term of General Grant as President began March 4th, 1873, 
and his nominations for Cabinet officers were at once confirmed by the Senate. 
The country was prosperous and rapidly recuperating from the sad effects of 
the war. The improvement in the feelings between the South and the North 
was very marked, growing out of the leniency with which the Government 
treated those lately in arms against it. 

The Indian troubles assumed unusual proportions during the second 
term of Grant's administration. The humane policy inaugurated at the be- 
ginning of his first term had not resulted in all that was hoped for it. The 
trouble seemed to be in the fact that the Government treated the tribes of 
Indians as distinct nations, and made treaties with them, appointed agents 
and commissioners, supplied them with bounties and subsidies, and compelled 
them to remain upon reservations set apart for them. The men who were 
acting as Indian agents were not always true men and caused ill feelings on 
the part of the red men. Not far from three hundred thousand Indians are 
living in the States, of whom about one third are civilized or half civilized.. 
The remainder are in a savage state. 

General Custer was sent into the Dakota region in 1874 with a military and 
exploring expedition, and gave such a glowing account of the country as to 
excite the mining population to enter and prospect for the precious metals, 
in great numbers. At the close of 1874 a bill was introduced into Congress 
to extinguish as much of the title to the Black Hills reservation as lay within 
the territory of Dakota. This greatly irritated the chiefs of the Sioux, for 



524 OUR NATION: 

they, with great show of justice, regarded it as a step toward robbing them of 
their lawful domain, A national geologist, guarded by a large military escort, 
went to this region early in 1875, and the Indians began preparations for war. 
A strong force of troops was sent to the Yellowstone region early in 1876, 
and were arranged into three divisions. General A. H. Terry in chief com- 
mand. The three columns were commanded respectively by Generals Terry, 
Cooke and Gibbon, intended to form the meshes of a net into which they ex- 
pected to ensnare Sitting Bull, the warlike chief of the Sioux. General 
Gibbon had a fight with the Indians on June 17th, when he was obliged to 
fall back. General Custer, with General Terry and his staff, joined Gibbon 
•on the Yellowstone, near Rose Bud Creek. Custer was ordered to make an 
attack with his force, which consisted of the Seventh United States Cavalry. 
He and Gibbon advanced to the Big Horn River, and Custer, coming up with 
the Indians first, gave them battle without waiting for Gibbon, and falling 
into an Indian ambush was killed, with the greater part of his men. Many 
•gallant officers and men were slain in this terrible encounter, including two of 
Custer's brothers and a brother-in-law. 

This was on June 25th, 1876. At once the Government sent a large 
force to this region. The Sioux evaded a contest with them and the troops 
went into winter quarters. Sitting Bull with his followers retired to the 
British Possessions, whither the United States troops could not follow him. 

The Government had a war with the Nez-Perce (nose-pierced) Indians 
in 1875. They had been a peaceable and friendly tribe since the time of 
Jefferson, when the early explorers had come to their country. They were 
living happy and contented in the fertile Walla-Walla Valley. When agents 
were first sent to them they had been a little dissatisfied, but there had been 
no outbreak. Now the settlers had begun to crowd upon them, and treaties 
were made with a part of the tribe to remove to a reservation upon the Gov- 
ernment paying them a certain fixed annuity. But an old chief, by the name 
of Joseph, who had taken no part in the treaty, refused to leave, and in 1873 
Grant had ordered that they should not be molested. When the avaricious 
whites began to encroach upon the domains of this tribe the President was 
induced to revoke this order, and in 1875 a force was sent to compel them to 
move at a given time. Before the time came Joseph became incensed at the 
encroachments of the white settlers, and about twenty white people were 
murdered. War was begun, and lasted until the Indians were forced again 
to make a humiliating treaty in 1877. These measures embittered that part 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 525 

of the tribe which had not engaged in the war, and they became enemies of 
the Government. 

Sitting Bull, who had gone to the British Possessions with his warriors 
in 1876, was an unwelcome guest there, but he remained stubborn and sullen. 
The United States sent several commissioners to treat with him, but he re- 
garded them with contempt until 1880. The British authorities had informed 
him that if he attempted to cross into the United States with hostile inten- 
tions that Government would join with the United States in making war upon 
him. Finally he offered, in 1880, to surrender with his braves, and a thousand 
of them did so in the early part of 1881, but their wily chieftain did not give 
himself up until some time later. Colorado, the " Centennial State," was 
admitted into the Union July 4th, 1876. 

The year 1876 was the "centennial year" and the year for a Presidential 
election. The celebration of the opening new year was very general through- 
out the United States, with bonfires and the ringing of bells as the old year 
and century passed. The events of the political arena were the impeach- 
ment of Mr Belknap, Secretary of War, for maladministration of office. He 
was acquitted in August. A resolution for submitting another amendment 
to the Constitution was passed in the House, but defeated in the Senate. 
At the end of June a resolution to provide for the coinage of ten millions of 
silver currency was passed, and very quickly that metal became plenty. The 
fractional paper currency, which had come in use during the war, at once dis- 
appeared from circulation. On June i6th Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated 
by the Republican party for the Presidency and William A. Wheeler for Vice- 
President. On the 27th of the same month the Democratic party' nominated 
Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks for the same offices respectively, 
and a most exciting canvass was carried on until November, of which we will 
speak hereafter. 

THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION. 

There had been a wide-spread desire to celebrate the centennial year in 
some way in which all nations could rejoice with the young Republic of the 
West. It was proposed to hold a gigantic exposition of the arts, manufac- 
tures and industries of all nations at Philadelphia. Invitations were sent to 
•other governments and were very generally accepted. The early inception 
■of the plan was set forth by a communication of the Franklin Institute to 



526 OUR NATION: 

the Mayor and other authorities of Philadelphia asking for the use of Fair- 
mount Park for an international exhibition. A committee of seven members 
of the municipal government proceeded to lay the subject before Congress. 
At the same time the Legislature of Pennsylvania sent a committee to Wash- 
ington for the same purpose. On March 3d, 1871, an act was passed em- 
powering the President to appoint a commission for superintending the 
exhibition, and an alternate commission from each State and Territory in the 
Union. These commissioners met at Philadephia on March 4th, 1872, and 
when twenty-four States and three Territories were represented. " The 
United States Centennial Commission," was organized by the choice of Joseph 
R. Hawley, of Connecticut, as president, with five vice-presidents, a temporary 
secretary, an executive committee and a solicitor. John S. Campbell after- 
ward became permanent secretary. A Centennial Board of Finance was 
appointed in 1873, and on the 4th day of July of that year the authorities 
formally surrendered the grounds to the commission. 

There were five grand buildings erected, the Main Building, Art Gallery, 
Machinery Hall, Agricultural Hall and Horticultural Hall. The applications 
for space from foreign governments was so great that it was seen that the 
work done by women would be thrown out or lost in the maze of other ex- 
hibits, and therefore the women of America raised thirty thousand dollars to 
build a Woman's Pavilion. The first five buildings named covered, in the 
aggregate, seventy-five acres of ground, and cost the sum of four million four 
hundred and forty-four thousand dollars. There w ere besides these mentioned 
a number of other buildings erected by the several States and Territories and 
by foreign nations, as well as by individual exhibitors, in all amounting to 
one hundred and ninety. 

At the beginning of 1876 there were lacking funds to the amount of one 
and one half million dollars to make it a success upon the plan that every 
one interested thought should be carried out. Congress advanced the money, 
with the provison that it should be returned out of the proceeds of the Ex- 
position. 

The exhibition was formally opened on the designated day, May loth, 
with imposing ceremonies. The President of the United States received the 
presentation of the grounds and buildings from the President of the Centen- 
nial Commission, and the Stars and Stripes were unfurled upon the Main 
Building, to signify that the Exposition was opened to the public. The total 
number of admissions to the grounds was 9,910,965, at an admission fee of 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 527 

fifty cents each. In the month of October there were 2,663,911 persons 
passed the several gates. Thirty-six States had exhibits, and most of the 
foreign governments. We will speak of the material effects of this Exposi- 
tion further on. 

The day of the national election came, and the result was in great doubt,, 
owing to two sets of returns from each of the States of Louisiana, Florida 
and South Carolina. Both parties claimed the presidency, and for the first 
time in the history of the country each party claimed the election of its 
candidate. One hundred and eighty-five votes in the Electoral College were 
necessary to a choice. It was at once conceded that Mr. Tilden had one 
hundred and eighty-four. Representative men from both parties went to the 
questionable States to watch the ofificial counting of the votes. Excitement 
ran high, and there were muttered threats of revolution. The United States 
troops in Louisiana and South Carolina were under orders November loth to 
be in instant readiness to preserve the peace. The air of Washington was 
filled by mutual accusations and charges of fraud. The way to settle the 
matter in such a contingency was not clearly defined by the Constitution, 
and it was at length agreed to submit the decision of the question to an 
Electoral Commission, composed of an equal number of both parties. A 
committee similarly constituted was to report a bill to put this in effect. On 
January i8th, 1877, they reported the bill, which provided that five members 
from the House and five from 'the Senate, with five justices of the Supreme- 
Court, should constitute the Commission, to be presided over by the justice 
longest in commission. Both parties agreed that the decision of the board 
should be final. The bill was passed and signed by the President on January 
29th. The next day the Senate appointed Messrs. Edmonds, Morton, Fre- 
linghuysen, Thurman and Bayard. The first three were Republicans, the 
others were Democrats. The House of Representatives appointed Messrs. 
Payne, Hunton, Abbot, Garfield, and Hoar, the first three of whom were 
Democrats, and the others Republicans. Associate Justices Clifford, Miller, 
Field, and Strong were appointed, and they chose Joseph P. Bradley for the 
fifth. They met in the Hall of Representatives on February ist. The com- 
mission did not reach its final decision until March 3d, when they declared 
Rutherford B. Hayes duly elected President of the United States. 



528 OUR NATION: 

ADMINISTRATION OF RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 

The nineteenth President was inaugurated March 5th, 1877, Chief Jus- 
tice Waite administering the oath of office. Hayes nominated his Cabinet, 
and they were at once confirmed by the Senate. He began with a kindly, 
concihatory poHcy toward the South, and endeavored by every means to 
produce the best of feehngs among the citizens of the distracted States. He 
appointed Mr. Key, of Tennessee, one of the mihtary leaders in the Con- 
federate army, Postmaster-General, The United States troops were removed 
from the Southern States, and left the management of the public afTairs in 
the hands of their own civil leaders. He pronounced in favor of civil service 
reform. An extra session of the forty-fifth Congress had to be called 
(October 15th, 1878) to provide for a deficiency of $35,000,000, which had not 
been appropriated to pay the expenses of military service. The object was 
not attained, for debates of an exciting partisan character consumed the 
time, and showed a disposition to block the wheels of government, A bill 
opposed to Chinese emigration was passed by Congress and vetoed by the 
President, and the opposition, having the power, failed to pass the appropria- 
tion bills. Another special session was called, to convene on March i8th, 
1879, when the House passed appropriation bills with such obnoxious pro- 
visions for extraneous matters that the President vetoed them, after which 
the bills were passed with the unsatisfactory measures omitted, and he signed 
them. This session adjourned July ist. 

There was an immense exodus of negroes from the Lower Mississippi 
States and the Carolinas to Kansas and Indiana in 1879, which caused Con- 
gress to appoint a committee to inquire into its cause. The results obtained 
did not prove in any way satisfactory. 

Specie payment was resumed January ist, 1879, after having been sus- 
pended for eighteen years. The business of the country had been in a de- 
pressed condition since the great panic of 1873, but it now began to rapidly 
improve. In opposition to this measure there arose a " Greenback party," 
which clamored for an unlimited issue of irredeemable greenbacks, as the 
national paper currency was then called. They prophesied the financial ruin 
of the country to result from a specie currency, and have waited to the present 
time to see it come, but instead the country has been prospering in all de- 
partments. There was a fearful outbreak of the Ute Indians in 1879, T^^ 
government agent, N. C, Meeker, was murdered, and for a time a general 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 529 

Indian uprising was feared. Major Thornburg was sent against them, but 
he and ten of his men were killed, and the rest were surrounded for six days. 
The troops intrenched and held out until succor arrived, and soon the Utes 
were put down. A joint resolution, having for its design the enfranchisement 
of women, was introduced into the House of Representatives on January 
30th, 1880. The same in substance was presented to the Senate January 19th. 
It is known as the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution. 

The project of an inter-oceanic canal was revived by a visit to this 
country, in 1880, of M. de Lesseps, the engineer of the Suez Canal. He 
examined the Isthmus, and declared his belief in the feasibility of the scheme. 
The President sent a message to Congress March 8th, 1880, in which he 
apprised the world that it is the duty of the United States to assert and 
maintain such supervision over an enterprise of this kind as will protect our 
national interests. 

The presidential election of 1880 was one of intense interest, and party 
spirit ran high. There were four candidates in the field. James A. Garfield 
and Chester A. Arthur were nominated by the Republicans on June 2d. On 
the 9th, the Greenback party nominated James B. Weaver and Benjamin J. 
Chambers. The Prohibition party put in nomination Neal Dow and A. H. 
Thompson on June 17th. The Democratic party assembled in Chicago on 
June 22d, and nominated Winfield S. Hancock and William H. English. 
There is another fact which, if not mentioned in history, would be soon for- 
gotten. There was another party in the field, whose candidates were John 
W. Phelps and Samuel C. Pomeroy. It was the Anti-masonic party. All 
of the four candidates for President had been generals in the Union army. 
The canvass was particularly spirited and bitter. The excitement ran high, 
and many rumors were put in circulation which had no foundation in fact. 
James A. Garfield was elected by an unquestionable majority. On the 28th 
day of February the President elect left his home at Mentor, Ohio, and in 
company with his family proceeded to Washington, accompanied by his aged 
mother. 

A special session of the Senate was called to confirm the nominations of 
the new President. 



530 OUR NATION: 

ADMINISTRATION OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 

The inaugural address of President Garfield met with the general appro- 
bation of the country. The chief points were: equal protection for all with- 
out respect to race or color; universal education as a safeguard of suffrage; 
an honest coinage; the funding of the national debt at a lower rate of in- 
terest; the prohibition of polygamy and the regulation of the civil service. 
These were well received by all parties and the administration started off with 
high hopes. The Senate of the United States was so evenly divided between 
the two great parties that at the beginning of the administration of General 
Garfield there was quite an animated contest over the appointment of officers 
for that body. This caused a dead-lock for a number of weeks. There had 
been a gentleman nominated by the President for the ofifice of Collector of 
the port of New York, who was distasteful to the senior Senator from that 
State, Roscoe Conklin, and because the Senate confirmed the nomination the 
latter, with his colleague, resigned and left that great State unrepresented in 
the United States Senate till an election of their successors. The Legislature 
of New York was in session at Albany, and at once there began an exciting 
canvass for the election of the United States Senators. This lasted for several 
weeks and finally resulted in the retirement of Mr. Conklin and his colleague 
to private life and the election of two other gentlemen to take their places. 
In the mean time Congress had been performing its regular work. A treaty 
with China concerning immigration and commerce; with the United States 
of Columbia in regard to extradition of criminals; a consular convention with 
Italy; a convention with Morocco and a reciprocal treaty with Japan con- 
cerning shipwrecked sailors had received the attention of Government. On 
May 1 8th the Senate postponed the resolution reasserting the Monroe doc- 
trine. 

The country was startled on the eve of a general wide-spread celebration 
of the anniversary of American independence by the news that the President 
of the United States had been shot by an assassin and would probably die. 
This diabolical crime had been committed at the passenger depot of the Balti- 
more and Potomac Railroad at Washington on Saturday morning, July 2d. 
Hon. J. G. Blaine, the Secretary of State, and the President were walking 
arm-in-arm through the waiting-room when two pistol shots were fired in 
quick succession from the rear. One shot penetrated the President's body, 
and he was carried wounded to a room in the second story of the depot, and 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 531 

as soon as possible removed to the White House. The assassin was at once 
arrested by a poHce officer and taken to the jail. He proved to be Charles 
J. Guiteau, a man of great self-conceit and little ability, who had been for 
months beseeching the President and the Secretary of State for an official 
appointment, and at length, becoming incensed at not receiving the attention 
he thought he merited, he resolved upon revenge. It may have been that 
his unbalanced mind was inflamed by the discussions going on in the Repub- 
lican party. The President, before leaving the depot where he had been 
shot, caused a telegram to be sent to Mrs. Garfield, who was at Long Branch, 
to relieve her of any undue anxiety in regard to his condition. It was in 
these words : 

" The President desires me to say to you from him that he has been seriously hurt, how seriously 
he cannot yet say. He is himself and hopes you will come to him soon. He sends his love to you. 

A. F. Rockwell." 

Contrary to the- expectations of the attending physicians the President did 
not die at once, but seemed to rally, and hopes were entertained of his final 
recovery. The deepest gloom was over the nation, and North and South 
alike felt the fearful shock of the blow. The celebrations which were planned 
for July 4th in all parts of the country were abandoned. Messages of sym- 
pathy and condolence came from all parts of the civilized world. Crowned 
heads in several countries, American citizens in foreign lands, every form of 
association, commercial, social, benevolent, political and religious, vied with 
each other in tendering the deepest expressions of sympathy in this hour of 
sadness. Most heartfelt and touching were the kind words sent by the 
widowed Queen of Great Britain. Then followed the long and painful struggle 
for life which lasted for weary weeks. There were repeated relapses and 
rallyings, which caused the nation to alternate between the hope of final 
recovery and the despair of sorrow, until September i6th he had an alarming 
relapse. He was at Long Branch, where he had been carried in the most 
careful manner by a special train from Washington to the very door of the 
cottage where he was to die. The struggle for life had been heroic, persistent 
and patient, but the President must die. At 10:55 Monday, September 19th, 
he drew his last breath, and thus passed away the man who had risen from 
the humble position of a driver on a canal to the proudest station in the gift 
of a great people. This sad ending of an eventful life had filled the country 
with gloom and foreboding. Instantly the painful news was telegraphed all 
over the world, and the messages of condolence and kindest sympathy poured 



532 OUR NATION: 

in from every quarter of the globe. The noble Queen of England sent a 
message to her not less noble sister in America, Mrs. Garfield, in the follow- 
ing words : 

" Words cannot express the deep sympathy I feel for you at this moment. May God support and 
comfort you as He alone can. The Queen." 

The Cabinet at once summoned Vice-President Arthur to take the oath 
of ofifice without delay, and he did so at a little after midnight, on September 
20th. The oath was administered by Judge John R. Brady, of the Supreme 
Court, in New York. The remains of the dead President were conveyed to 
Washington, where they lay in state in the Rotunda of the Capitol for two 
days. The floral tributes were of the most beautiful and expensive kind ; 
and throughout the entire country the tokens of mourning were displayed 
from public and private buildings. The mansions of the rich and the homes 
of the humble poor; the large commercial palaces of business and the humble 
stand of the street vender; the massive factory of the wealthy corporation 
and the shop of the mechanic, all alike were decked with some emblem of 
mourning. The South vied with the North, and the whole country united 
in. their heartfelt expressions of sorrow. 

ADMINISTRATION OF CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 

President Arthur was formally inaugurated in Washington on Sep- 
tember 22d. The oath was re-administered by Chief Justice Waite in the 
presence of Mr. Garfield's Cabinet, ex-Presidents Grant and Hayes, and some 
military and civil officers. He then delivered a brief inaugural address, and 
immediately issued a proclamation appointing Monday, September 26th, as 
a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer. He called an extra session of the 
Senate, to meet October loth. 

The body of the late President was removed from Washington, after 
appropriate religious services, and conveyed by a military guard, accom- 
panied by a Congressional Committee and prominent citizens. Among the 
many emblems which were presented was a floral ladder, on the successive 
rounds of which were the words, " Chester, Hiram, Williams, Ohio State 
Senator, Colonel, General, Congressman, United States Senator, President 
and Martyr." These names indicated the upward steps by which James A. 
Garfield had advanced in his public career. Chester was the seat of an 
obscure seminary where he began his education. Hiram is the name of an 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 533 

insignificant college where he was a teacher, and Williams is the college where 
he graduated. The other titles explain themselves. 

The last public services over the remains were performed in the presence 
of two hundred thousand citizens in the cemetery at Cleveland, Ohio. There 
were services in all the cities and towns in the country at the same time. On 
the 23d of October the body was quietly transferred from the receiving tomb 
to the private vault of Captain L. T. Schofield, in Lake View Cemetery. 

The special session of the Senate met October loth, and the President's 
nominations for Cabinet officers were confirmed. They were as follows: 
E. T. Frelinghuysen for Secretary of State; Chas. J. Folger, Secretary of 
Treasury; Samuel J. Kirkwood, Secretary of the Interior; Robert T. Lincoln, 
Secretary of War; Wm. A. Hunt, Secretary of Navy; Benjamin H. Brewster,^ 
Attorney-General, and Timothy O. Howe, Postmaster-General. Other nom- 
inations were confirmed and the routine business of the Executive Depart- 
ment, which, to some extent, had been interrupted by the illness and death 
of the late President, was resumed. The Senate had considerable trouble in 
organization, growing out of the even division of the two great parties. It 
ended in the election of David Davis, of Illinois, as President /ri? tempore of 
the Senate. 

The centennial celebration of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, 
at the close of the War of the Revolution, was an occasion of great national 
interest. A grand naval review and a military display on shore, with historical 
addresses and public festivities, were the main features of the occasion. The 
French Government was represented by a large number of ofificials and a 
national vessel. Among the distinguished guests were lineal descendants of 
Count D'Estaing, Lafayette and Rochambeau, who had aided the patriots 
in their early struggle. Other nations of Europe were also represented. 
The President and Cabinet, with the diplomatic corps of the nations of the 
world, took part in the occasion. The celebration began October i8th, i88r, 
and lasted for a number of days. 

The trial of Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, was begun in 
November of the same year. The widest latitude was given the accused to 
present his defense. The counsel were allowed ample time to prepare their 
answer, and the brother-in-law of the prisoner, associated with Mr. Reed, his 
counsel, undertook the case for him. After a fair, impartial and lengthy triaU 
in which the plea of insanity was strongly urged, Guiteau was found guilty 
of murder and sentenced to be hanged on June 30th, 1882. Two ineffectual 



534 OUR NATION: 

attempts to shoot the prisoner were made during the progress of the case; 
the first by a civiHan, whose name was Wm, Jones, on the 26th of November, 
who shot at him while being conveyed in a van from the court house to the 
jail. The second attempt was by Sergeant Mason, of the military guard, who 
shot through the window of the prisoner's cell and failed to injure him. 

They were both brought to trial and punished as their cases demanded. 
A number of unsuccessful measures were taken by the family and legal 
advisers of Guiteau to set aside the verdict, obtain a new trial, or induce 
President Arthur to interpose his executive clemency in favor of the con- 
demned man, but all of no avail, and on the appointed day he was hanged. 
To the last he displayed his egotism and excessive self-conceit by making a 
characteristic speech from the gallows on which he was executed on June 
30th, 1882. 

The first regular session of the Forty-seventh Congress met in December, 
1881, and entered upon a long and heated debate upon political questions. 
The people were demanding a revision of the tariff and a reduction of the 
burdens of taxation occasioned by the immense war debt and the heavy ex- 
penditures of government. They were demanding reform in the civil service 
and purity in the administration of public affairs. The people of the Pacific 
States were clamoring for a national law to prevent the immigration of 
Chinese into the country. The opportunity for Congress to distinguish itself 
in passing measures of great public benefit was never more plainly presented. 
The session lasted nearly eight months, and when, at last, it adjourned, the 
people felt a sense of relief, for its doings had been generally unsatis- 
factory. 

Early in 1882 the trial of persons connected with that branch of the 
Postal Service known as " The Star Route System," was begun at Washington 
and continued several months. They were charged with gross frauds. An 
incumbent of the General Post ofifice and others in ofificial stations were im- 
plicated, but through defects in the jury system most of them escaped pun- 
ishment. 

The President, who favored Civil Service reform, recommended in his 
annual message (Dec, 1881) action upon it. He also recommended legisla- 
tion looking to the suppression of Polygamy in the Territory of Utah, and 
offered valuable suggestions concerning the treatment of the Indians with 
a view to their ultimate civilization. This latter topic, so important to the 
future welfare of our country and that race, still commands the attention of 



1 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 535 

the people. Much has been done in that direction, but much yet remains to 
be done to accomplish the desirable result. 

At different periods changes had been made in the apportionment of 
population to each representative in Congress, so as to keep the number of 
Representatives (325) nearly the same. The apportionment made by Con- 
gress in 1882, gives a representative to about 137,000 inhabitants. 

Their peculiar social condition and habits, with their cheap labor, made the 
Chinese, who had been rapidly locating on the Pacific coast, obnoxious to the 
people of that section, and a movement to exclude them from the country was 
inaugurated. In compliance with this demand, and notwithstanding the Bur- 
lingame treaty, an act was passed by Congress in 1882 excluding the Chinese 
for ten years. Thus was opened the great question, which still agitates the 
country, of restricting immigration and shutting out undesirable residents. 
An act for the suppression of polygamy in Utah also became a law. 

This session of Congress closed on the 8th of August. Between 6,000 
and 7,000 bills had been presented to it, but only 251 public acts, 233 private 
acts, and 84 joint resolutions became laws. Commissioners were appointed 
to negotiate a commercial treaty with Mexico, composed of Gen. U. S. Grant 
and William H. Trescott. That duty was soon performed, and the treaty was 
ratified in March, 1884. It provided that the chief agricultural products of 
Mexico should be included in the free list of the tariff of the United States. 
The schedule of articles to be admitted free into Mexico from the United 
States comprised five great classes of manufactures and the chief mineral 
products. 

A commission appointed under the Anti-Polygamy act made a registry 
of the voters in the Utah Territory. The Chairman of the Committee re- 
ported, in the autumn of 1882, that one thousand polygamists of both sexes 
had been disfranchised. 

The Fall election in 1882 changed the political complexion of Congress, 
giving to the House of Representatives a Democratic majority of yj. This 
was largely brought about by the disaffection of a considerable number of 
" independent " Republicans, who were dissatisfied with their party methods. 
In the State of New York this disaffection was most remarkable, the Demo- 
cratic candidate for Governor of that State — Grover Cleveland — being elected 
by almost 200,000 majority. 

The two hundredth anniversary of the landing of William Penn in America 
was celebrated at Philadelphia, with imposing ceremonies. Penn was a 



536 OUR NATION: 

leader of the sect called Quakers, who oppose war, and yet the chief feature 
of that celebration was a great military and naval display. 

The final session of the Forty-seventh Congress was opened on Dec. 4, 

1882. In his annual message President Arthur made prominent the topics 
of Civil Service reform and revenue reform. A bill for the promotion of Civil 
Service reform was introduced into the Senate and became a law in January, 

1883. Commissioners appointed under it entered upon their duties. The 
corrupt method of assessing ofifice-holders for election funds was forbidden 
by an act, in accordance with a decision of the United States Supreme Court. 

The Forty-seventh Congress expired on March 4, 1883. It had reduced 
the rate of letter postage to two cents. It had also passed a joint resolution 
for the termination of the treaty with Great Britain concerning the fisheries. 

A commission was appointed to sit during the recess of Congress to in- 
quire into the condition of labor in the United States, with a view to suggest 
a solution of the great problem of the true relations between labor and capital, 
which has so long occupied the attention of statesmen and publicists, and 
which had been often alluded to in the debates during the session just clos- 
ing. That committee sat in New York in the Fall of 1883, but accomplished 
no important result. 

Two wonderful achievements of engineering skill took place in the United 
States in the year 1883. In May of that year a great Suspension Bridge 
over the East River, connecting the sister cities of New York and Brooklyn 
by a lofty high-way, was completed. President Arthur and Governor Cleve- 
land and many other distinguished persons were present on the occasion.. 
During the same year the Northern Pacific Railroad was completed by join- 
ing the eastern and western portions, in the territory of Montana, in August. 

Two important centennials were celebrated in 1883. At Newburg on 
the Hudson and at Fishkill Village, the event of the disbanding of the Con- 
tinental Army was celebrated early in June, with imposing ceremonies. In- 
timately connected with this event, was the evacuation by the British army 
of the city of New York on November 25, 1783. The centennial of this, 
event was celebrated in the city of New York, on which occasion a bronze 
statue of Washington, colossal in size, and standing in front of the United 
States Sub-treasury building, was unveiled. 

The first session of the Forty-eighth Congress began on December 3, 
1883, when John G. Carlisle of Kentucky was chosen Speaker of the House 
of Representatives. In his annual message, the President recommended that 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 537 

some form of civil government should be given to the people of Alaska; also 
a repeal of the law conferring upon the people of Utah territorial power, 
and the "assumption by Congress of the entire political control of the Terri- 
tory, and the establishment of a Commission with such powers and duties as 
shall be delegated to it by law." 

The government was embarrassed at the beginning of 1884 by a surplus of 
•money in the treasury. It vvas found that it was receiving from $75,000,000 to 
$150,000,000 from taxes levied on the people, more than it needed for current 
expenditures. The grave question arose, What shall be done to decrease the 
receipts or to dispose of the surplus ? Four plans were proposed to Congress. 
The extreme Protectionists proposed to abolish the tax on whiskey and 
tobacco, but leave the duty on foreign imports untouched. Another method 
proposed was to divide the surplus among the States. A third proposed to 
divide the whiskey and tobacco tax among the States; and a fourth proposed 
to expend the surplus in measures for reviving the shipping and export trade. 
The question yet remains unsolved. 

The Mormon problem has occupied the attention of the people and their 
representatives ever since it was proposed. Measures have been adopted 
which have greatly restrained the evil, and promise to lead to a final suppres- 
sion of polygamy in the United States in the near future. 

Earnest efforts have been made for the suppression of a more gigantic 
and destructive evil, that of the Liquor Traffic and its consequence, wide- 
spread intemperance. The Census report of 1880 showed that in one year, 
ending in June, 1 880, $900,000,000 were paid by the people of the United States 
for intoxicating drinks, or more than as much as they paid for their bread 
and meat. This great evil caused the active efforts of an organized Prohibi- 
tion Party, and the rapid increase of its adherents. It caused the formation 
in the Republican Party of an "Anti-Saloon League." 

Efforts for the enlightenment of our people by decreasing the amount of 
illiteracy have been made. In the Spring of 1884, a bill was introduced into 
Congress appropriating the sum of $77,000,000 to be distributed among the 
States and Territories, in proportion to their illiteracy, on the basis of the 
Census of 1880, the payments of the money to extend over eight years. 
Nothing has been done. The test oath, called the "iron-clad oath," required 
of all persons before assuming the functions of any public ofifice, civil or mili- 
tary, who might be suspected of having engaged in the Rebellion of 1861-65, 
was repealed. 



538 OUR NATION. 

Preparations for the presidential campaign, in 1884, were made between 
May 29 and July 23, when National Conventions of the four political parties 
then in the field were held. The Greenback convention, assembled at Indian- 
apolis on May 29, nominated Benjamin F. Butler for President, and A. M. 
West for Vice-President. The Republican convention assembled at Chicago, 
on June 3d, nominated James G. Blaine for President, and John A. Logan for 
Vice-President. The Democratic convention assembled at Chicago July 8th, 
and nominated Grover Cleveland for President, and Thomas A. Hendricks 
for Vice-President. The Prohibition convention met at Pittsburg, Penn., on 
July 23d, and nominated John P. St. John, Ex-governor of Kansas, for 
President, and William Daniel for Vice-President. Cleveland and Hendricks 
were elected. 

The political canvass in 1884 was very warmly carried on. Independent 
Republicans, anxious for reform in the civil service, refused to vote for the 
candidate of their Party. Disaffection in the Republican Party was wide- 
spread, and several Republican newspapers supported the Democratic 
nominee. The aim of the Prohibition Party was and is to obtain a national 
law forbidding the manufacture, importation and sale of intoxicating liquors 
as a beverage. They polled a large vote, which, with the votes for Cleveland 
of the disaffected Republican party, secured his election by a small majority. 

Lieutenant Greeley of the United States Navy and a scientific party had 
been sent to the Polar regions by their government to establish a post for 
scientific observations at a high latitude. Failing to receive supplies in the 
autumn of 1883, Greeley established a permanent camp on West Greenland. 
Early in 1884 his supplies were fe\v and very soon starvation began. Relief 
vessels were sent to their rescue, and when discovered on June 23d 17 of 
the party of 25 had perished. The survivors were brought to the United 
States; among them Lieutenant Greeley. 

Another catastrophe to an American party in Polar waters had recently 
occurred. The Steamship y^«««^//^ had been sent to the Arctic regions, under 
Captain James H. DeLong, of the U. S. Navy. The vessel was not heard 
from in about two years. She was wrecked on the coast of Siberia. Captain 
De Long and some of his companions had reached the icebound shores, where 
he and nearly all of his party perished from starvation. 

The French people, chiefly in commemoration of the emancipation of 
the slaves in the United States, presented to our government an immensely 
colossal statue made of copper, of " Liberty enlightening the World." It was 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 539 

executed of beaten copper by Bartholdi, an eminent sculptor. The corner- 
stone of the pedestal was laid, on an island in the harbor of New York in 
August, 1884. The height of the pedestal and statue is about 300 feet. The 
statue, designed for a lighthouse, is on Bedloe's Island, where it was unveiled, 
with imposing ceremonies, in October, 1885. 

The visit of M. De Lesseps to the United States and the Isthmus of 
Panama, in 1880, in furtherance of his scheme for the construction of a Ship 
Canal across the isthmus, aroused the American government and people to 
the importance of such a work at another point on the narrow strip of earth 
which connects North and South America. In November, 1884, a treaty 
between the United States and Nicaragua, which provided that the former 
should construct a canal across the isthmus of Tehuantepec, and the latter 
grant the right of way, with a strip of territory three miles wide. The Senate 
of the United States failed to ratify the treaty, but the project was not 
abandoned. 

During the same month a treaty was negotiated between the United 
States and Spain for commercial reciprocity between our Republic and Cuba 
and Port Rico. The Senate did not ratify it. 

The Second Session of the Forty-eighth Congress began on Dec. i, 1884. 
The President in his annual message to Congress alluded with satisfaction to 
the labors of the Civil Service Commission, and the salutary performances 
of the Utah Commissioners, and again recommended Congress to assume 
absolute political control of the Utah Territory. He called their attention 
to the condition of our foreign trade, which he regarded as " one of the gravest 
of the problems which appeal to the wisdom of Congress." It was shown 
that only a little more than seventeen per cent, of our combined exports and 
imports were conveyed in American vessels. 

A "World's Fair" was opened at New Orleans in December, 1884, in the 
presence of 30,000 people. The Exhibition w^as instrumental in promoting 
harmony and good feeling between the citizens of the Republic in all 
sections. 

In December, 1884, the capstone of the obelisk, constituting the Wash- 
ington monument at the National Capital, was put in place, and on the 22d 
of February following the obelisk was dedicated with imposing ceremonies. 

The Administration of President Arthur closed on the 4th of March, 1885. 
The National debt, which on January i, 1866, was $2,800,000,000 had been re- 
duced one half on January, i, 1885. Arthur was succeeded by Grover Cleve- 



■540 OUR NATION: 

land, like himself a citizen of New York, as the occupant of the chair of State 
of the Great Republic of the West. 

Congress, just before its expiration on March 4, 1885, honored General U. 
S. Grant by authorizing the President to place him on the retired list of the 
Army with full pay and title of General, for life. Immediately after this act, 
Grover Cleveland was inaugurated President of the United States in the pres- 
ence of 40,000 or 50,000 citizens of the Republic. 

ADMINISTRATION OF GROVER CLEVELAND. 

Grover Cleveland, a son of a Presbyterian clergyman, a successful 
lawyer, a Mayor of Buffalo, N. Y., and Governor of the State of New York, 
was elected President of the United States in the autumn of 1884, and took 
his seat in the presidential chair on the 4th of March, 1885, at the age of fifty- 
one years. His administration of public affairs in the commonwealth of New 
York had been so generally satisfactory, that he began his national adminis- 
tration with the good will of all parties in the Republic. The oath of office 
was administered to him by Chief Justice Waite. His inaugural address was 
received with great enthusiasm by a vast crowd, who heard it uttered on the 
eastern portico of the Capitol. 

The administration of Mr. Cleveland was marked by many important 
events in the history of our nation. Almost his first act was to withdraw 
from the Senate the unratified treaty with Nicaragua, with a view to the sub- 
sequent presentation of a substitute. It was early in his administration that 
the Prohibition law of the State of Iowa, passed in 1884, was submitted to a 
■constitutional test. The unanimous opinion of a full bench of the Supreme 
Court of the State pronounced the act to be constitutional. 

In the Spring of 1885 a rebellion or large mob having suddenly appeared 
in the Isthmus of Panama, which menaced the safety of American property 
if not lives there, and had destroyed Colon or Aspinwall by fire, over a 
thousand marines of the United States Navy were sent thither. They landed 
at the ruined town, crossed the Isthmus to Panama and soon restored order. 

Trouble with the fierce Apache Indians, led by an able chief, Geronimo, 
gave much alarm in Arizona, New Mexico and the border districts of Mexico, 
but United States troops soon subdued them. They are the most warlike of 
our Indian tribes. In July, the same year the Cheyenne Indians broke out 
■of their Reservation and went into Texas, creating great alarm. General 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS ANP GROWTH. 541 

Sheridan hastened to Fort Reno, whither United States troops were sent. 
Led by General Miles they soon ended the outbreak and the scare. The 
Cheyennes were brought back to their Reservation and made satisfied by just 
treatment. 

On the 23d of July (1885), ex-President and General U. S. Grant died at 
Mount McGregor, not far from Saratoga Springs. His body was taken first 
to Albany, where it lay in state for a brief period, when it was conveyed to 
New York by railroad. It lay in state in the City Hall there, and was in- 
terred in a temporary vault in Riverside Park, on the banks of the Hudson, 
in the Great Metropolis. The largest and most distinguished procession ever 
seen in New York city followed his remains to the tomb. 

Knights of Labor, a very strong association of Labor Leagues of various 
kinds, assuming to control and regulate the labor arrangements between em- 
ployers and the employed of the country, tried the power of the association 
by ordering a " strike," or cessation from labor, on railroad lines centering at 
St. Louis, Missouri. They began their operations by ordering a strike on 
the street cars of St. Louis at a time (October) when fully 100,000 strangers 
were in the city attending a great Fair. A mob wrecked twenty street cars 
in the following Spring (1886), 8,000 to 10,000 employees on the Gould 
southwestern system of railways struck without adequate cause apparent, by 
order of leaders of the Knights of Labor. This was the beginning of an 
attempt to cripple the great system of railroads in that region and so impress 
the people with a sense of the power of the Knights. For some time all traffic 
was paralyzed, and the malign influence of the movement was felt all over the 
country. 

Archbishop McCloskey, the first Cardinal in America, died at his Epis- 
vcopal residence in New York City on Oct. 7th, and on the 29th of the same 
month, Major-General George B. McClellan, ex-Governor of New Jersey, died 
very suddenly of heart disease at his residence in New York City. 

The first session of the Forty-ninth Congress began on December 4, 1885. 
The sudden death of Vice-President Hendricks, in the Fall of 1885, left the 
chair of the president of the Senate vacant. General John A. Logan was 
nominated by the Republicans to fill the place pro tempore, but declined; 
Senator John Sherman accepted it. The Democrats nominated Isham Harris 
for the position. They also nominated John S. Carlisle of Kentucky for 
.Speaker of the House, in which they had a majority, and he was elected. 

In his first annual message President Cleveland made special reference to 



542 OUR NATION: 

the condition of the National finances, and suggested that in any modification 
of the revenue laws the industries and interests in which citizens had made 
large investments should not be " ruthlessly injured or destroyed ; " and that 
the interests of American labor should be protected. He alluded to the 
enormous amount — $65,000,000 — of coinage then in the treasury, largely in 
silver, and the evils to be apprehended from such a state of affairs. Indian 
Reservations and Chinese policy; immigration; Polygamy in Utah, and the 
Nicaragua Canal treaty, were noticed at length. He opposed the CanaL 
treaty and concluded not to return it to the Senate. 

At the middle of December, a conspiracy was discovered in San Francisco, 
formed by a band of dynamiters, to destroy several leading citizens with the 
terrible explosive, and to murder all the Chinese there. The conspirators were 
arrested. 

The dusky natives occupying the " Indian Territory" were much dis- 
turbed by the introduction of Bills into Congress tending to interfere with 
their political rights and their property. The Cherokees, the most enlightened 
of these natives, took action in council, and by resolutions denied the right of 
the United States to dispose of their property in any way, save by the con- 
sent of their Council; also, that the Cherokee nation did not authorize the 
sale of any of its lands for white settlements or for any purpose. 

The " Mormon Question " occupied the attention of Congress. Senator 
Edmunds of Vermont introduced into the Senate a stringent Anti-Poly- 
gamy bill, which passed that body on January 8th (1886) by 37 yeas to 7 
nays. At about the same time, the Land Commissioners made a decision 
which affected a claim of the Northern Pacific Railroad to about two and a 
half million acres of land, valued at $25,000,000. The validity of the claim of 
the Company to these lands had long been disputed by settlers on them, 
many of whom had made improvements. The decision of the Commission- 
ers was against the claim of the Company. 

The Presidential Succession Act became a law at the middle of January 
(1886). It provides that in case of the death of the President and Vice- 
President of the United States the vacancy shall be filled by a member of 
his cabinet selected in the following order: the Secretary of State; of the 
Treasury; of War; the Attorney-General; the Post-Master-General; the 
Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Interior. 

Early in March, 1886, a State Anti-Chinese Convention held at Sacra- 
mento, California, organized an Anti-Chinese 7ion-partisan Association for the 



I 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 543 

purpose of discouraging the employment of Chinese labor. The Association 
resolved to " boycott " any person who should employ Chinese labor, directly 
or indirectly, or who should purchase the products of Chinese labor. 

Connected with the warfare of the Knights of Labor against the South- 
western railroads were the serious operations of a mob at East St. Louis, on 
the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. Sheriff's deputies were sent from 
St. Louis to quell the disturbance, and being defied, they fired among the 
rioters and killed six persons and wounded as many more. The Mayor of 
St. Louis, who was drunk, tried to arrest the deputy-sheriffs, when shots were 
exchanged and one man was killed. On that night incendiary fires were 
kindled in the rail-road yards along two miles of river front. Forty-two cars 
were burned. The total loss of property was estimated at $150,000 before 
the rioters were checked by the arrival of Illinois State militia. The busi- 
ness of the whole country was deranged for more than a year afterwards 
by successive " strikes " ordered by the Knights of Labor or other " labor 
unions." 

A serious movement against the order of Society was begun in Chicago 
in the Spring of 1886 among foreign residents, who were anarchists. They 
were chiefly Germans. A large number were engaged in riotous proceedings 
in the suburbs on May 3d. On the following evening a large crowd had been 
called together in the city to listen to seditious harangues, and to inagurate 
anarchist proceedings. After listening for awhile to incendiary reiparks from 
a man named Fielden, the Inspector of Police led a band of the reserved 
police force to the gathered crowd and commanded the speaker to cease b.is 
harangue. At that moment a dynamite bomb was thrown before the front 
line of policemen, which exploded and killed several of the latter. At the 
same time the mob fired on the police, who returned the fire. Seven of the 
leading anarchists were arrested, tried for "murder before the act," in July, 
found guilty and sentenced to be hanged in November. By efforts to obtain 
a new trial, the interference of the United States Supreme Court, and a 
commutation of sentence by the Governor of Illinois, their execution was post- 
poned for about a year. Four of them were hanged, two were sent to prison 
for life, and one committed suicide in his cell. 

In June, 1886, President Cleveland and his ward. Miss Frances Folsom, 
were married at the Executive Mansion, in Washington, in the presence of 
members of his cabinet, Justices of the Supreme Court, Senators and Repre- 
sentatives, the Diplomatic corps, Lieutenant-General of the Army, Admiral 



544 OUR NATION: 

of the Navy, other officials in Washington, and personal friends of the "high 
-contracting parties." 

A resolution was introduced into the Senate in June (1886), proposing an 
•amendment to the Constitution to prohibit Polygamy within the bounds of 
the Republic; defining marriage, and providing punishment for those who 
should violate the laws to regulate the institution in accordance with the 
definition of marriage. 

Numerous private pension bills were presented to the President from 
time to time, many of which on careful examination he felt constrained to 
veto. His first veto message was issued early in May, 1885. From that time 
until 1888 he sent back to Congress about one hundred vetoed bills. 

Early in Mr. Cleveland's administration vexatious treatment of Ameri- 
can fishermen by the authorities of the Dominion of Canada, occurred. They 
fitted out cruisers to observe and prevent any encroachment of American 
fishermen within Canadian waters, and these annoyed the fishermen and pro- 
duced great irritation. Matters were assuming such a threatening aspect that 
the Secretary of State opened correspondence on the subject in July, 1886, 
with the British minister at Washington, which finally led to the negotiation 
'of a treaty early in 1888, the avowed object of which was the removal of all 
causes of misunderstanding in relation to the treaty of October, 181 8, and the 
■*' promotion of friendly intercourse and good neighborhood between the 
United States and the possessions of her Majesty in North America." It 
agreed to the appointment of a mixed commission to carry out the terms of 
the treaty. Late in August, (1888) the Senate of the United States rejected 
the treaty, whereupon the President, in an exhaustive message, asked for 
fuller powers to enforce retaliatory measures toward Canada, in accordance 
Avith a former law of Congress, authorizing retaliatory Acts. 

On the day before the adjournment of Congress early in August (1886) 
the President submitted to the Senate a new extradition treaty with Japan, 
Avhich covered more offenses than any other similar treaty with foreign powers. 
It was suggested by the Japanese government. 

At the close of August the most destructive earthquake ever felt in this 
country occurred most severely, at Charleston, S. C, and vicinity. There 
-were ten principal shocks at Charleston, between the night of August 27th 
and September ist. The tremor was felt over an area of 900,000 square 
miles, or one quarter of the United States. The most destructive shock 
•occurred on the night of August 31st. It destroyed many buildings and 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH.. 545 

about forty lives (a large portion of them among the Negro population), and 
more or less injured almost every structure in Charleston. People rushed 
from their houses and encamped in the streets. The Negroes, believing that 
the world was coming to an end, huddled in groups at the corners of the streets^ 
shouted incoherent prayers and sang hymns, while the groans of the wounded 
and dying swelled the dreadful chorus. It was truly a night of horrors in 
the stricken city. The sympathy of the whole country for the sufferers was. 
instantly aroused and munificent aid was sent to the authorities of Charleston. 
Its shattered and ruined buildings were soon repaired or rebuilt, and pros- 
perity soon made the city glad. 

An effort was made among the Temperance members of the Republican: 
party to make the doctrine of sobriety a leading feature in its character. 
For that purpose a " Republican Anti-Saloon League " was formed in many 
parts of the Union, and in Sept., 1886, a National organization was effected at 
a convention held at Chicago, which was attended by about 200 delegates, 
who represented sixteen States and one Territory. A National Committee 
was appointed, with Albert Grif^n of Kansas, the originator of the movement,, 
as chairman. 

The Bartholdi statue of " Liberty Enlightening the World," presented by 
the French people to those of the United States, was unveiled in New York 
Harbor, on Oct. 24th, 1886. It was a gala day in the city and harbor, though 
the weather was inclement. The event was celebrated by an immense pro- 
cession in the city, and a gathering of a vast multitude of water-craft of every 
description in the harbor, laden with men, women and children. The impos- 
ing special services of the occasion were observed on a platform in front of 
the Statue, on Bedloe's Island, in the afternoon. There was an opening: 
prayer, a presentation address by Count de Lesseps, the constructor of the 
Suez and Panama Canals, an address of acceptance by the President of the 
United States, and speeches by Senator Evarts and Chauncey M. Depew. 

At about the middle of the following month, ex-President Arthur died^ 
when the President ordered the Executive Mansion and the Government 
buildings to be draped in mourning for thirty days. 

In January, 1887, a bill was reported in the Senate to incorporate the 
Maritime Canal Company, and a resolution calling on the President to enter 
into negotiations with the Government of Nicaragua, with a view to obtaining- 
concessions from, and entering into a convention with that Republic for the 
construction of a Ship Canal through the State of Nicaragua from the Atlantic 



546 OUR NATION: 

to the Pacific oceans, the canal to be built either by the United States govern 
ment or its citizens. At about the same time an act was passed to create a 
Department of Agriculture and Labor, 

An Inter-State Commerce Act — a most important measure — for the 
regulation of trafific between the States, whether the transportation shall be 
by railroad c5r otherwise, was adopted on January 2ist, 1887. The President 
immediately appointed five Commissioners to carry out the designs of the Act. 
On the same day the Senate ratified a new treaty with the Hawaiian govern- 
ment, which extends the commercial relations of the United States with the 
islands for some years. On May 4th, the Queen of Hawiii arrived at Wash- 
ington on her way to attend the Jubilee of Victoria, Queen of Great Britain. 

The Centennial celebration of the adoption of the form of the National 
Constitution, by a convention at Philadelphia at the middle of September, 
1787, was celebrated in that city during three days (Sept. 15, 16, 17, 1887), 
with imposing civic and military parades, ovations, et cetera. The more in- 
tellectual proceedings occurred on Saturday the 17th, when the President of 
the United States and Justice Miller of the Supreme Court made addresses. 
The form of the constitution was agreed to on Sept. 15, and it was signed by 
the members of the Convention, on the 17th, 1787. 

The first session of the Fiftieth Congress began on December 4th, 1887. 
The most prominent topic of the President's annual message was revenue 
reform, the curtailment of the receipts of Customs duties, and the reduction 
of the enormous accumulation of hoarded coin in the treasury. He recom- 
mended a reduction of tariff taxes, which were necessarily imposed for war 
purposes. The message caused the subject of a tariff for " revenue " and a 
tariff for " protection " to become a vital question at issue in the Presiden- 
tial campaign of 1888. There being a difference of opinion on the subject 
by members of the two great political parties, made the issue of the campaign 
extremely doubtful and intensified its conduct. 

In January, 1888, the President nominated L. Q. C. Lamar, his Secretary 
of the Interior, to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United 
States. In expectation of the nomination, the Secretary had resigned his 
position in the Cabinet on the 7th of January. 

The great miners' strike in the Schuylkill coal region that so affected the 
Reading railroad and the coal supply of the country, ended at about the 
middle of February by agreement, when 20,000 laborers who had been idle 
for weeks resumed work. 



I 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 547 

On the first of March, Mr. Mills, Chairman of the Ways and Means 
Committee of the House of Representatives, made public their tariff bill, 
known as the " Mills Bill." Its general plan is based on the suggestions of 
the President's last annual message, recommending tariff reform by reducing 
the rate of duties imposed on certain articles. It caused long and earnest 
debates in and out of Congress. The Bill passed the House of Representa- 
tives, in which the Democrats had a majority, on July 13th, but was op- 
posed by the Senate, in which the Republicans preponderated in numbers. 

Early in March. 1888, the German population of our country were 
•deeply moved by tidings of the death of the aged Emperor of Germany, who 
was ninety-one years of age. The President of the United States directed 
the American minister at Berlin to make known that " the death of the ven- 
erable Emperor had deeply aroused the sorrow and sympathy of the people 
and government of the United States." 

The m.Qst severe storm of snow and wind ever known in the Middle and 
Eastern States of the Union, was experienced in that region on the 12th and 
13th of March. It was like a genuine "blizzard" of the Western States. It 
paralyzed all human operations out of doors for several days, preventing 
transportation of every kind, and almost every kind of labor but shovelling 
;snow. 

Morrison R. Waite, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, died on March 23d, and was succeeded on the 20th of July following 
by Melville W. Fuller, of Illinois. 

The text of a treaty with China concluded in 1880 for the purpose of regu- 
lating, limiting or suspending the arriving of Chinese laborers to, and residence 
in, the United States, was made public at about the beginning of April. Soon 
afterwards a bill for the restriction of Chinese immigrants to Chinese of^cials, 
teachers, students, merchants or travellers for pleasure or curiosity, with the 
permission of their government, these persons identified by certificates, and 
the repeal of the Chinese act of May 6th, 1880, introduced into the House 
of Representatives late in April 1888. The Chinese government rejected the 
Treaty, and the Chinese Emigrant Restriction Bill was passed in September. 
At about the same time a bill for the division of the Territory of Dakota, and 
constituting the southern half a State bearing that name, and the northern 
part a Territory named Lincoln, passed the Senate. It was defeated in the 
House. 

Lieutenant-General Sheridan, commander-in-chief of the armies of the 



548 OUR NATION: 

United States, was prostrated at his residence in Washington by the effects, 
of " fatty degeneration of the heart " at near the close of May, On the first 
of June he was given the rank and commission of " General." He lingered 
between life and death until August 5th, when he died at his cottage home 
at Nonquitt, Massachusetts. 

Since 1884, a third political party, known as the "Prohibition Party, "^ 
which labors for the prohibition of the manufacture, importation and sale 
of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, has rapidly increased in strength, and has 
assumed a national character. The Prohibitionists held a national Convention 
at Indianapolis on the 30th and 31st of May, nominated General Clinton B. 
Fiske of New York for President of the United States, and John A. Brooks- 
of Missouri for Vice-President, and adopted a national platform. A Demo- 
cratic National Convention, held at St. Louis on June 5, 6, and 7th nominated 
President Cleveland for the high position he occupied, and Allen G. Thurman. 
of Ohio for Vice-President. They adopted a platform of principles in agree- 
ment with the President's annual message in December, 1887. The Repub- 
licans held their National Convention at Chicago from June 19th to June 25th. 
There were many candidates for the presidency, nineteen persons receiWng 
one or more votes for the nomination. They also adopted a platform of 
principles. They nominated General Benjamin Harrison of Indiana, a 
grandson of President W. H. Harrison, for President, and Levi P. Morton, of 
New York, for Vice-President. 

On the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, soldiers of the National 
and Confederate armies who were engaged in that decisive struggle met in 
friendly reunion. The special re-union ceremonies were held in the National 
Cemetery and the most cordial good feeling prevailed. 

During the months of August and September (1888) the city of Jackson- 
ville, Florida, was frightfully scourged by yellow fever, while the rest of the 
Union seems to have been almost entirely free from the dreaded pestilence. 

The first session of the Fifty-first Congress closed on October 20. It was 
the longest session of Congress ever held. Ten days afterwards (October 30) 
the British Minister at Washington, Lord Sackville West, was dismissed by 
the President, for words uttered in a reply to a correspondent in California 
who made insinuations of bad faith and deception on the part of the President, 
in his dealings with the fishery question. In his reply, the Minister acqui- 
esced in his correspondent's opinions of the character of the President. His 
letter was marked " private." As fore-determined by the correspondent, it 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 



549 



was published broadcast. It was a political trick to secure votes against the 
President at the election about to take place. 

On November 6, at the close of a most exciting canvass, the Presidential 
election took place. It resulted in the choice of Benjamin Harrison of Indi- 
ana for President, and Levi P. Morton of New York for Vice-President. 

The second session of the Fifty-first Congress began on the first Monday 
in December, 1889. The President in his Message reiterated with emphasis 
his sentiments concerning revenue reforms. The most important act of this 
session was the creation of four ncAv States: Washington, North Dakota, 
South Dakota and Montana. The President signed the bill on the 22d of 
February, 1889. 




OUR NATIONAL PROGRESS 

AND THE WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT OF OUR MATERIAL 
RESOURCES SINCE THE CIVIL WAR. 

The war had been practically ended with the surrender of Generals Lee 
and Johnston in April, 1865, and both sections of the country rejoiced at the 
return of peace. The South had suffered most heavily and lost her all. 
Many wealthy families were reduced to the verge of necessity. Their slaves 
were free, their plantations were uncultivated, and their prospects for the 
future were dark indeed. Where the land remained in possession of its 
former owners they had not the means to cultivate it nor the money to buy 
seed. The worthless Confederate bonds and currency in which they had in- 
vested or which had been forced upon them was of no use to them now. 
Their towns and villages were filled with brave men who were shattered in 
life and limb, and had no government to care for them. Their industries 
were paralyzed and their commerce destroyed, and their political status was 
as yet uncertain. The first thought was for personal preservation, and all 
classes bent their energies to the raising of the first crop of cotton, for which 
the manufacturers of the world were waiting. The demand for cotton and 
their ability to supply this demand was the only line of hope. Bravely and 
grandly did they seize upon it. Could it be produced without slave labor? 
This was a problem as yet unsolved. It must be done. The freedman was 
given an interest in the growing crop, and he labored with more zest than he 
had ever shown for the kindest master. He was dependejit upon his own 
resources now, and with no owner to care for him his first experience in the 
new condition of things was at best a hard one. Even with the kindest dis- 
position the white people were unable to aid the blacks. The bounty of the 
Government was extended to all alike. The United States issued rations 
of food and clothing to both blacks and whites in many places, and thus the 
first season after the return of peace was passed. The cotton crop brought 
a good market. The deserted factories in the North sprang into action, and 
the production of cotton goods, which had been curtailed for years, was ac- 
tively resumed once more. 



OUR NATION. 551 

In the North the industries had been somewhat disarranged, but not to the 
extent they had been in the South. The manufacturing of all manner of 
army supplies had been pushed to its utmost limit. Iron factories had been 
Tunning day and night. The demand of the army for clothing and equip- 
jnents had been immense ; but that was all changed by the disbanding of the 
.army, and the industries of the North must be turned to other channels. 
The vast numbers of returned soldiers must be provided with means of liveli- 
Ihood and positions for peaceful employment. There was an abundance of 
paper money in the country, but it was below par value and prices were high. 
There had been a disposition to withdraw capital invested in mercantile and 
manufactiiring pursuits. But with the return of specie payments and depre- 
ciation in prices in 1879 came a general impulse for investments. The capital 
iof the North was moving southward. Cotton mills and other factories were 
ibeing erected nearer to the supply of the raw material. There arose a 
period of railroad development, and thousands of miles of new roads belted 
the country. Real estate was advancing in price, and the desire for specula- 
tion was upon the nation before they were aware of it. All the while the 
South was recuperating most rapidly. The vast war debt of the nation was 
being reduced and its interest lessened. A long panic followed, in which the 
public was taught to contract private expenditures and perform business 
upon solid principles. The lesson was a bitter but a needful one, and the 
people were taught by a hard experience that inflated values and high living 
are destructive to financial success. Slowly the public confidence returned, 
■and the revival of business began and assumed a healthy tone. 

The Centennial Exposition had displayed to the amazed countries of the 
'world the wonderful progress in all the arts, manufactures and improvements 
of the age, the United States leading in nearly every department of trade, 
and at the same time showing the old world her desirable advancement in 
the refined arts and scientific discoveries. In machinery and labor-saving 
appliances she had distanced the nations of Europe. While in defensive and 
offensive military armature she had given them lessons which they were but 
too ready to learn and improve upon. A grand impetus was given by this 
■exhibition to all the industries of the United States, while it opened up the 
markets of the world as never before. The fertile wheat and corn-growing 
sections of the great central Western States, as well as the cotton-growing 
South, found a ready market in the old world. 

The public debt has been largely reduced year after year, and refunded 



552 OUR NATION. 

at a low rate of interest. The cities of the South and the North have shared 
in the general prosperity and largely regained the lost ground caused by the 
war. The enterprise of the whole country has been stimulated by a health- 
ful rivalry in business, and the bonds of commercial intercourse are fast blot- 
ting them out. The following extract shows the real feeling of the South, 
especially among its young men : 

From the Century. 

The Southern States are now rearing a large number of young men before whom the outlook is 
bright. Some of them are sons of the old ruling families, but many of them have sprung from the 
lower and middle classes. They enjoy the advantages of poverty; they have no money to spend in 
luxuries or diversions; they have fortunes to retrieve or to gain; they have grown up since the war, 
and have inherited less than could be expected of its resentments. '' Well," said a bright fellow at the 
close of a college commencement in Virginia last Summer, "Lee and Jackson have been turned over 
in their graves but once to-day." The sigh of relief with which he said it indicates the feeling of many 
of these young men. They keep no grudges and have no wish to fight the war over again. The senti- 
ment of patriotism is getting a deep root in their natures. 

Yet they are full of faith in the future of their own section. Well they may be. During their 
lifetime the industry of the South has been revolutionized, and the results already achieved are marvel- 
ous. An era of prosperity has begun; and there are few intelligent men at the South to-day who will 
not at once confess that it is destined to be a far brighter era than they have ever seen. Free labor is 
unlocking the wealth of farms and mines and falling waters in a way that slave labor never could have 
done. New machinery, new methods are bringing in a new day. In the midst of the stir and move- 
ment of this industrial revolution these young men are growing up. Hope and expectation are in the 
air; the stern discipline of poverty goads them on, and the promise of great success allures them. All 
the conditions are favorable for the development of strong character; and any one who will visit the 
Southern colleges and schools will find in them a generation of students alert, vigorous, manly and 
tremendously in earnest. Probably they do not spend, on an average, one-third as much money per 
capita as is spent by the students of the New England colleges; and in the refinements of scholarship 
the average Southern student would be found inferior to the average Northern student; but they are 
making the most of their opportunities. They ought to have better opportunities. Most of the South- 
ern colleges and schools are crippled for lack of funds, and much more of the flood of Northern bounty 
might well be turned southward, to the endowment of schools and colleges for whites as well as blacks. 
The generous sentiment of the young South would thus be strengthened, and the bonds of union more 
firmly joined. But whatever may be done in this direction it is evident that a race of exceptional moral 
earnestness and mental vigor is now growing up in the South, and that it is sure to be heard from. If 
the young fellows in the Northern colleges expect to hold their own in the competition for leadership, 
they must devote less of their resources to base ball and rowing and champagne suppers and come down 
to business. 

The "Cotton Exposition" in the beautiful and rejuvenated city of At- 
lanta, Georgia, in October, 1882, was a gigantic exhibition of the resources 
of the great cotton-growing States, and displayed the rapid stride made by 



THE STORY OF ITS PROGRESS AND GROWTH. 553 

a people but a few years ago prostrated by an exhaustive and unsuccessful 
struggle. The vast domain of the South-west is being rapidly opened up by 
the means of railroad communications and the influx of immigration. The 
crowded denizens of the old world are thronging in inconceivable numbers 
to the western republic as never before in the history of the country. Since 
1820, when the Government first began to keep the of^cial account, there 
have come to the United States no less than 11,800,000 persons of foreign 
birth to find homes in this country. In addition to these there have come 
over 230,000 Chinese who have been less welcome and more harshly treated 
than any of the rest. 

This vast heterogeneous mass of men and women of different races and 
types has become assimilated and equal under the law. They have aided 
much in developing the resources of the land and added to its material wealth 
in many directions. The vast improvement in every department of science 
has kept pace with the demands of the age. The telephone, the audiphone, 
the electric light, have been invented during the period of which we are writ- 
ing. The future success of this republic is assured if the institutions of its 
founders are maintained and its constitution and laws are kept unimpaired. 
The purity of the ballot-box, the maintenance of public honor, the education 
of the masses and the civilization and Christianization of the foreign element 
and of the aborigines are demanded by the spirit of the hour. The great 
blots still remaining upDn the national character — the permission of polygamy 
and the treatment of the Indians — should be removed. The sanctity of the 
marriage relation and observance of the Sabbath should be required. Public 
faith with nations, tribes and individuals is imperatively demanded, and then 
the fondest dreams of the most enthusiastic well-wisher of his country will be 
realized. Private integrity, sobriety and industry, with the qualities above 
mentioned, will secure us from the fate of the old republics that tottered to 
their fall as soon as these were wanting. 







THE BIRTHPLACE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 





U^ [ct^ryrrvi/i 







(Tifcm 



^^l£^"^^±^^ 







SIGNATURES TO THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



ION OF I 



In Congress, July 4th, 1776. 
By the Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled. 

A DECLARATION. 



HEN, in the course of human events, it becomes 
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands 
which have connected them with another, and to 
assume among the powers of the earth the separate 
and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
nature's God entitled them, a decent respect for the 
opinions of mankind requires that they should declare 
he causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : — that all men are 
reated equal : that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
malienable rights ; that among these are life, liber.ty, and the 
)ursuit of happiness ; that, to secure these rights, governments are 
nstituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent 
)f the governed ; that whenever any form of government becomes 
lestructive of these ends it is the right of the people t'o alter or to 
abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such 
principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most 
likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate 
that governments long established should not be changed for . light and 
transient causes ; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind 
are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves 
by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long 
train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, 
evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it 
is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for 
their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; 
and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former sys- 
tem of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a 
history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the 
establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let 
facts be submitted to a candid world. 




556 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for 
the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing 
importance, unless suspended in th^ir operation till his assent should be 
obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to 
them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large 
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of repre- 
sentation in the legislature — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to 
tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncom- 
fortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the 
sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with 
manly firmness, his invasions on the rights o the people. 

He has refused, for a long time ter such dissolutions, to cause others to 
be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have 
returned to the people at large for their exercise ; the State remaining, in the 
mean time, exposed to all the dan^ r invasion from without and convulsions 
within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for that 
purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass- 
others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new 
appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to 
laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their 
oflfices and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarnis of 
officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the 
consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to the 
civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to 
our constitution and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving his assent to their 
acts of pretended legislation, — 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders 
which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States: 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world • 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent : 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury: 

For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offenses : 

For abolishing the free system of English law in a neighboring province 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 557 

establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so 
as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the 
same absolute rule into these colonies : 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and 
altering fundamentally the forms of our government : 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested 
with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his protection, 
and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and 
destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries, to 
complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun, with 
circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralled in the most barbarous 
ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens taken captive on the high seas. 
to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their 
friends and brethren or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to 
bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose 
known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, 
and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the 
most humble terms ; our petitions have been answered only by repeated 
injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may 
define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We 
Iiave .warned them, from time to time, of attempts made by their legislature 
to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them 
of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have 
appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured 
them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, 
which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. 
They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We 
must therefore acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, 
and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war — in peace, 
friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in 
general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world 
for the rectitude of our intentions, do in the name and by the authority of 
the good people of these colonies solemnly publish and declare that these 
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States ; 
that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all 
political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as independent States, they have full 



558 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commercei 
and to do all other acts and things which independent States may of right do. 
And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protec- 
tion of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, out 
fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

Signed by order and in Ijehalf of the Congress. 

JOHN HANCOCK, President. 

Attested, CHARLES THOMPSON, Secretary. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

JOSIAH BaRTLETT, 

William Whipple, 
Matthew Thornton. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 

Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine, 
Elbridge Gerry. 



RHODE ISLAND, 
Stephen Hopkins, 
William Ellery. 



Etc, 



CONNECTICUT. 

Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
William Williams, 
Oliver Wolcott. 

NEW YORK. 
William Floyd, 
Philip Livingston, 
Francis Lewis, 
Lewis Morris. . 

NEW JERSEY. 

Richard Stockton, 
John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, 
John Hart, 
Abraham Clark. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Robert Morris, 
Benjamin Rush, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
John Morton, 
George Clymer, 



James Smith, 
George Taylor, 
James Wilson, 
George Ross. 

DELAWARE.. 

Ca'sar Rodney, 
George Read, 
Thomas M'Kean. 

MARYLAND. 

Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, 
Thomas Stone, 
Charles Carroll, of CarroUton^ 

VIRGINIA. 

George Wythe, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison, 
Thomas Nelson, Jr., 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
Carter Braxton. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

William Hooper, 
Joseph Hewes, 
John Penn. 

SOUTH CAROLINA.. 
Edward Rutledge, 
Thomas Heyward, Jr., 
Thomas Lynch, Jr., 
Arthur Middleton. 

GEORGIA- 
BUTTON Gwinnett, 
Lyman Hall, 
George Walton* 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
estabhsh justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common de- 
fense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to 
ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution of 
the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

Section I. — All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

Sec. II. — I. The House of Representatives shall be composed of mem- 
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several States ; and the 
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the 
most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of the State in which he 
shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the sev- 
eral States which may be included within this Union, according to their 
respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number 
of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and ex- 
cluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual 
enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the 
Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, 
in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives 
shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at 
least one representative ; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State 
of Nezv Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three ; Massachusetts, eight ; 
Rhode Island aiid Providejtce Plantations, one ; Connecticut, five : New York, 
six; Nezv Jersey, four, Pennsylvania, eight; Delaivare, one; Maryland, six; 
Virginia, ten ; North Carolina, five ; South Carolina, five ; Georgia, three. 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, the ex- 
ecutive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other 
ofificers, and thall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sec. III. — I. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 



56o CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

senators from each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years ; and 
each senator shall have one vote. 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
e-lection, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three classes. The 
seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the 
second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year, and the 
third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen 
every second year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise, dur- 
ing the recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make 
temporary appointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall 
then fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be 
chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be president of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro 
tempore in the absence of the vice-president, or when he shall exercise the 
oflfice of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall preside; and no 
person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers present. 

7. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust, or profit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall, never- 
theless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, 
according to law. 

Sec. IV. — The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators 
and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature there- 
of ; but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, 
except as to the places of choosing senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year ; and such 
meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
appoint a different day. 

Sec. V. — I. Each house shall be judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members ; and a majority of each shall constitute a 
quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, 
and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members in such 
manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
expel a member. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 56r 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and, from time to 
time, publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, 
require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on 
any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on 
the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the con- 
sen-t of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. VI. — I. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensa- 
tion for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury 
of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, and 
breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the 
session of their respective houses, and in going to or returning from the same ; 
and for any speech or debate in either house they shall not be questioned in 
any other place. 

2. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
States which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have 
been increased, during such time ; and no person holding any office under the 
United States shall be a member of either house during his continuance in 
office. 

Sec. VII. — I. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as 
on other bills. 

2. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of the 
United States ; if he approve, he shall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it, 
with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall 
enter the objections at large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. 
If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to pass the 
bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house ; and if 
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such 
cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays; and the 
names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the 
journals of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the 
President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented 
to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return ; in which case it shall not 
be a law. 

3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Sen- 
ate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of 
adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States, and 
before the same shall take effect shall be approved by him or, being disap- 
proved by him, shall be repassed bv two-thirds of the Senate and House of 



562 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case 
of a bill. 

Sec. VIII. — The Congress shall have power — 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises; to pay the 
debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United 
States : but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the 
United States : 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States : 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes : 

4. To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies, throughout the United States : 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures : 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States : 

7. To establish post-ofifices and post-roads : 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for 
limited times, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries : 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court : 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations : 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water: 

12. To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of money to that 
use shall be for a longer term than two years : 

13. To provide and maintain a navy: 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces : 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions : 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and 
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the 
officers, and the authority of trainii-<g the militia, according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress : 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may by cessionof particular States, 
and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of government of the United 
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent 
of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of 
forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other needful buildings: And, 

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this con- 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 563 

stitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or 
officer thereof. 

Sec. IX. — I. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
States, now existing, shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by 
the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight ; but a 
tax or duty may be imposed on such importations, not exceeding ten dollars 
for each person. 

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require 
it. 

3. No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, shall be passed. 

4. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. No 
preference shall be given, by any regulation of commerce or revenue, to the 
ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to or from 
one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all pubhc money shall be published from time to 
time. 

7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States; and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of 
any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

Sec. X. — I. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confed- 
eration ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of 
credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; 
pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of 
•contracts ; or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all duties and imposts 
laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury 
of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and 
control of the Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, 
lay any duty on tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign power, 
or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will 
not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE 11. 

Sec. I. — I. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of foui 



564 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be 
elected as follows : 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and 
representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress ; but no 
senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under 
the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

3. [Annulled. See Amendments, art. 12.] 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the 
day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural-born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to the 
ofifice of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who 
shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a 
resident within the United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office, the 
same shall devolve on the Vice-President ; and the Congress may by law 
provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the 
President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, 
and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a 
President shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com- 
pensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period 
for which he shall have been elected ; and he shall not receive, within that 
period, any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the follow- 
ing oath or affirmation : — 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office 
of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States." 

Sec. II. — I. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when 
called into the actual service of the United States : he may require the 
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices ; and 
he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the 
United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

2, He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Sen- 
ate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur ; and 
he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall 
appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the 
supreme court, and all other officers of the United States whose appoint- 
ments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 565 

by law. But the Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior 
ofificers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in 
the heads of departments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions, which shall 
expire at the end of their next session. 

Sec. III. — He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress informa- 
tion of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall- judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordi- 
nary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disa- 
greement between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may 
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive ambassa- 
dors, and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed ; and shall commission all the ofificers of the United States. 

Sec. IV. — The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and convic- 
tion of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Sec. I. — The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from time to 
time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior 
courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated 
times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished 
during their continuance in office. 

Sec. II. — I. The judicial power shall extend to all cases in law and 
equity arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases 
affecting ambassadors, and other public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United 
States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more States ; 
between a State and citizens of another State ; between citizens of different 
States ; between citizens of the same State, claiming lands under grants of 
different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
States, citizens or subjects. 

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls 
and those in which a State shall be a party, the supreme court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the supreme court 
shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, 
and under such regulations, as the Congress shall make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have 
been committed ; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be 
at such a place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. 



566 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Sec. III. — I. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testi- 
mony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confessions in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except 
during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Sec. I. — Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public 
acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Con- 
gress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, 
and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec. II. — I. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand 
of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up to 
be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. 

3. No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, 
be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered upon claim 
of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sec. III. — I. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union, but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of 
any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more 
States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislature of the States 
concerned, as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to 
the United States . and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as 
to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. 

Sec. IV. — The United States shall guarantee to every State of this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and, on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the 
legislature can not be convened), against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, 
shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, on the application of the 
legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for pro- 
posing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and 
purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three- 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 567 

fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as 
the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; 
provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one 
thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and 
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article , and that no State, with- 
out its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

r. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the 
adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States 
under this constitution as under the confederation. 

2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the 
constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. 

3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members 
of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both 
of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by an oath or 
affirmation to support this constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be 
required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United 
States. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for 
the establishment of this constitution between the States so ratifying the 
same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the States present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof, we have hereunto 
subscribed our names. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

President, and Deputy from Virginia. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. NEW YORK. 

John Langdon, Alexander Hamilton. 

Nicholas Oilman. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Nathaniel Gorham, NEW JERSEY. 

RuFus King. William Livingston, 

CONNECTICUT. David Brearley, 

Wm. Samuel Johnson, William Patterson, 

Roger Sherman, Jonathan Dayton. 



568 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

PENNSYLVANIA. VIRGINIA. 

Benjamin Franklin, John Blair 

Thomas Mifflin, James Madison, Tr. 

Robert Morris, 



NORTH CAROLINA. 



George Clymer, 

Thomas Fitzsimons, 

Jared Ingersoll, William Blount 

James Wilson, Rich. Dobbs Spaight, 

Gouvernkur Morris. Hugh Williamson. 

George Kead^^^"^^"^^^' SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Rutledge, 

John Dickinson, Charles C. Pinckney, 

Richard Bassett, Charles Pinckney, 

Jacob Broom. Pierce Butler. 



MARYLAND. 

James M'Henrv, 

Dan'l of St. Tho. Jenifer, William Few, 

Daniel Carroll. ' Abraham Baldwin 



GEORGIA. 



Attest, WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Art. I. — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and 
to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

Art. II. — A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a 
free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 

Art. III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be 
prescribed by the law. 

Art. IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be 
violated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by 
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and 
the persons or things to be seized. 

Art. V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise- 
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, 
except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when in 
actual service, in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be sub- 
ject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall 
be compelled, in any criminal case, to be witness against himself, nor be de- 
prived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall 
private property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Art. VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right 
to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been. 



CONSTITITUTIOiS[ OF THE UNITED STATES. 569 

previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of 
the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have 
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the 
assistance of counsel for his defense. 

Art. VII. — In suits of common law, where the value in controversy 
shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved ; and 
no fact, tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the 
United States than according to the rules of the common law. 

Art. VIIL— Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- 
posed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Art. IX. — The enumeration in the constitution of certain rights shall not 
be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Art. X.— The powers not delegated to the United States by the consti- 
tution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respec- 
tively, or to the people. 

Art. XL— The judicial power of the United States shall not be con- 
strued to extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted 
against one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign State. 

Art. XII. — I. The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote 
by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be 
an inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall name in their 
ballots the persons voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person 
voted for as Vice-President : and they shall make distinct lists of all persons 
voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of 
the number of votes for each ; which hsts they shall sign and certify, and 
transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government of the United States, 
directed to the president of the Senate.' The president of the Senate shall, in 
the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the 
•certificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; the person having the 
•greatest number of votes for President shall be President, if such number be a 
majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest number, not exceed- 
ing three, on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Represen- 
tatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But, in choosing 
the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each 
State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member 
or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States 
shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not 
choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall 
act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of 
the President. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President 
shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole 



570 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from 
the two highest numbers on the Hst the Senate shall choose the Vice-Presi- 
dent ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole 
number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessaiy 
to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the of^ce of President shall 
be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. 

Art. XIII. — I. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- 
lation. 

Art. XIV. — i. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and 
of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the 
equal protection of the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several States accord- 
ing to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in 
each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any 
election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the 
United States, representatives in Congress, the executive or judicial ofificers 
of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of 
the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and 
citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation 
in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be 
reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear 
to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector 
of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the 
United States, or under any State, who having previously taken an oath as a 
member of Congress, or as an ofificer of the United States, or as a member of 
any State Legislature, or as an executive or judicial ofificer of any State, to 
support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrec- 
tion or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove 
such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, 
including debts incurred for payments of pensions and bounties for services 
in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither 
the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation 
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any 



EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 



5/1 



claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obliga- 
tions, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the 
provisions of this article. 

Art. XV. — i. The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account 
of race, color or previous condition of servitude. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate 
legislation. 



BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our 
Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a Proclamation was issued 
by the President of the United States, containing among other things the 
following, to wit : 

" That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or 
designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against 
the United States, shall be then, thenceforward and forever free, and the exec- 
utive government of the United States, including the military and naval 
authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, 
and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any 
efforts they may make for their actual freedom." 

"That the executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proc- 
lamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people 
thereof respectively shall then be in rebellion against the United States, and 
the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be in good 
faith represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen 
thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State 
shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testi- 
mony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people thereof 
are not then in rebellion against the United States." 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, 
by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-chief of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, in time of actual armed rebellion against the 
authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war 



572 EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 

measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accord- 
ance with my purpose so to do, publicly proclaim for the full period of one 
hundred days from the day the first above-mentioned, order and designate, as 
the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively are this 
day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit : 

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (except the parishes of St. Bernard, 
Plaquemines, Jefferson, St John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assump- 
tion, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including 
the city of New Orleans), MISSISSIPPI, ALABAMA, Florida, Georgia, South 
Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia (except the forty-eight coun- 
ties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, 
Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including 
the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts are, for the 
present, left precisely as if this Proclamation were not issued. 

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and 
declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts 
of States are, and henceforward shall be free ; and that the executive govern- 
ment of the United States, including the military and naval authorities there- 
of, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons. 

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free, to abstain 
■from all violence, unless in necessary self-defense, and I recommend to them 
that in all cases, when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. 

And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable con- 
dition will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison 
forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in 
said service. 

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted 
by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judg- 
ment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, and caused the seal 
of the United States to be afifixed. 

Done at the City of Was/migton, this first day of January , in the 

[l. S.] year of ojir Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, 

and of the Independetice of the United States the eighty-seventh. 

Abraham Lincoln. 
By the President : 

William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State, 



BEYOND 



FHE STATES. 




HISTORICAL. SPOTS IN THE CITY OF QUEBEC. 



BEYOND THE STATES. 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

Her Provinces and Principal Cities. 




HE great confederation of British American provinces occupied in 
1889 the whole of the enormous territory of the North American 
continent lying between the Arctic Ocean on the north, the Atlan- 
tic on the east, the United States on the south, and the Pacific on the west, 
excepting Alaska, Greenland, and Newfoundland. It is almost equal to the 
whole of Europe in extent, having a length of 120° and a breadth of 90° of 
longitude. Its area has been variously estimated at from 3,515,324 to 3,580,- 
310 square miles, but as about 3,000,000 square miles are practically uninhab- 
ited and very little known, the area can only be approximated. It is the m.ost 
important British possession on the American continent, and according to the 
census of 1881, had an aggregate population of 4,350,933, a gain of 680.858 in 
ten years. The Dominion is composed of the former provinces of Ontario, pre- 
viously known as Canada West, Quebec, formerly Canada East, Nova Scotia, 
New Brunswick, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, and the 
Northwest Territories. Newfoundland, though not at present (1889) a political 
part of the Dominion, is naturally and intimately associated with it. It has 
its own provincial government, wholly distinct from that of the Dominion. 

The government and constitution of the Dominion are modeled after 
those of Great Britain and the United States. The supreme authority is 
vested in the sovereign of Great Britain, who is officially represented by a 
viceroy, styled the Governor-general. He is aided in the administration of 
his great trust by a privy council, composed similarly to that of the home 
government. The executive authority descends from the sovereign through 
the Governor-general to a Lieutenant-governor for each province, who has 
the aid of an executive council, a legislative council, and a legislative assem- 
bly chosen by popular vote. The supreme legislative authority is vested in 



574 • THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

a parliament, composed of a senate and house of commons, corresponding 
with the English house of lords and house of commons, excepting that the 
senate is more democratic, and that membership therein is not a prerogative 
of a titled class of citizens, nor a hereditary possession. The senate is com- 
posed of seventy-seven members, who are appointed for life by the Governor- 
general, and the House of Commons (1889) of 206 members who are elected 
by popular vote. The latter body, like the United States House of Repre- 
sentatives will increase in membership with the growth of population. In 
the provinces the forms of government are independent of the parliament, 
save that their actions must conform to the supreme laws, just as the acts 
of the State governments and legislatures in the American Union must har- 
monize with the federal constitution, the decisions of the United States Su- 
preme Court, and the legislation of Congress. The provinces are subdivided 
into districts and counties, each with its own subordinate form of administra- 
tion. Every male British subject, 21 years of age, and possessing a small 
property qualification, has the right of suffrage. 

There is no state religion in the Dominion, nor is any interference with 
the forms of worship which its citizens wish to observe permitted. The 
census of 1881 reported the following denominational adherents: Roman 
Catholics, 1,791,982; Methodists of all forms, 742,981 ; Presbyterians of all 
forms, 686,165 ; Anglicans, 574,818; Baptists all forms, 296,525 ; Lutherans, 
46,350; Congregational churches, 26,900; Disciples of Christ, 20,193 ; Brethren, 
all forms, 8,831; Adventists, all forms, 7,211; Friends, 6,553; Universalists, 
4,517; acknowledged pagans, 4,478 ; Reformed Episcopal, 2,596; Jews, 2,393 ; 
Unitarians, 2,126; and "no creed" and "creed not given," 136,323; total, 
4,350,933. The Roman Catholics were the most numerous in the province of 
Quebec, and also constituted a plurality in that of New Brunswick; the 
Methodists were the most numerous in Ontario, and the Presbyterians in 
Nova Scotia. 

From the establishment of the Dominion in 1867 till 1887, the government 
expended the following sums on public works: railroads, $97,056,423; canals, 
$29,876,800; lighthouses and navigation, $8,284,580; acquisition and govern- 
ment of the Northwest Territories, $5,356,035; government buildings and 
miscellaneous works, $13,680,829; total, $154,254,667. The increase in the 
public debt has been as follows: 1868, $96,896,666; 1872, $122,400,179; 1876, 
$161,204,687; 1880, $199,125,323; 1886, gross, $273,164,341, net, $223,159,107; 
1888, gross, $284,513,841, net, $234,513,358. The ordinary revenue in 1886 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 



575 



amounted to $33,177,040, and the expenditures to $39,011,612. The move- 
ment of trade was — Exports: 1868, $57,567,888; 1872, $82,639,663; 1876, 
$80,966,435; 1880, $87,91 1,454; 1886, $85,251,314. Imports: 1868, $73,457,644; 
1872, $111,430,527; 1876, $93,210,346, 1880, $86,489,747; 1886, $104,424,561. 
During this period the highest exports were in 1873, $89,789,922, the lowest, 

1868, $57,567,888; and the highest imports, 1874, $128,213,582, the lowest 

1869, $70,415,165. The distribution of this trade among the chief countries 
and its relation to the United States are shown in the following table of the 
transactions during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886: 



COUNTRIKS. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


United States .... 


$50,475,418 


$36,578,769 


Great Britain 






40,589,500 


41,542,629 


Germany 






2,139,426 


253,298 


France .... 






1,866,392 


534,363 


British West Indies 






995,422 


1,256,549 


Other West Indies 






1,511,412 


865,021 


Other British Possessions 






583,839 


253,290 


Japan .... 






1,485,932 


1,708 


South America 






1,052,496 


1,012,806 


China .... 






903,439 


61,415 


Newfoundland and Labrador 






388,171 


1,752,048 



The imports of iron and steel and manufactures thereof into the Dominion 
for home consumption amounted in value to (1884) $14,790,727 ; (i885)$ii,- 
415,713; and (1886) $11,053,365. In the fiscal years 1887-8 the value of ,the 
fishery catch fell considerably below the figures of the preceding }'ear. Of 
the total value of the catch, only 37 per cent, was exported, 63 per cent. 
being retained for home consumption ; and of the total exports of pickled 
mackerel — which fell off 61 per cent. — -the United States took 87 per cent., 
but only 15^/2 per cent, of the total shipments of dry-salted cod. The total 
value of fish of all kinds exported to the United States was $2,717,000, or 40 
per cent, of total export. 

Canada was discovered by John and Sebastian Cabot in 1497, but the 
French were the first to profit by the discovery. Records are extant that 
show that Frenchmen were engaged in cod-fishing off Newfoundland very 
early in the sixteenth century: a Frenchman, Denys by name, is said to have 
made a map of a portion of the Gulf of St. Lawrence about 1506; and in 
1508 a French merchant captain visited the shores of the gulf, and, fearing 
lest his story might be discredited on his return, carried with him living evi- 



576 THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

dence in the form of several natives. Furthermore, the King of France sent 
Verazani, a Florentine navigator, with four ships, to take possession of the 
country and prosecute further discoveries in 1524. He made three voyages, 
and on the last perished with all his crew. Again, in April, 1534, the king 
commissioned Jacques Cartier to carry out his instructions to Verazani, and 
gave him two ships and 112 men. He came in sight of Newfoundland in 
May, but, being deterred from landing by the enormous quantity of snow, 
sailed to the 51st degree of latitude in the vain hope of realizing the dream 
of the navigators — a direct passage to China — and then returned home. In 
the following year with three ships he was more successful. He entered the 
Gulf of St. Lawrence on St. Lawrence's day (whence the name of the gulf 
and river), took possession of the country in the name of the King of France, 
explored the river a distance of 300 leagues, built a fort, and wintered there. 

In the reign of Henry VII. of England, Bartholomew Columbus presented 
to the king some new maps of the world and charts for navn'gation, which 
up to that time had not been employed. He also laid before the king the 
views of his brother, Christopher Columbus, respecting the existence of a 
vast continent across the Atlantic, and a proposition to enter the royal service 
and prosecute further discoveries of the comparatively unknown country. 
No substantial effort could have been made by the king to promote the en- 
terprise, otherwise Columbus would never have struggled so long at the court 
of Spain for the royal command. It was, therefore, due either to the indiffer- 
ence or preoccupation of the King of England that France took possession 
of an extreme northern portion of the American continent, and Spain ac- 
quired domination over the greater and richer portion with its numerous 
islands. Had he supported the enterprising Cabots and acceded to the 
modest proposal of Columbus, he would have achieved the glory of adding 
an entire continent to his realm. 

Though Cartier made his discovery and took possession of it in 1535, it 
was not till 1608 that a permanent settlement was made on the river he dedi- 
cated to St. Lawrence, though a few scattering and short-lived settlements 
were made near St. Croix River under grants of Henry IV. of France in 1604. 
This first settlement was made by a bod)' of Frenchmen under Champlain, 
on the spot now occupied by the city of Quebec. The French made a treaty 
of peace with the Indians, and by the time the settlement was getting into a 
prosperous condition, war broke out between England and France, and an 
English expedition was sent against Quebec. The city surrendered to the 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 577 

English in 1629, after peace had been signed by the belHgerents, though the 
fact was not known in Canada ; and consequently the territory had to be re- 
turned to France. Canada continued to be a possession of France till 1759, 
when Quebec was taken by General Wolfe, and the province was ceded in 
full sovereignty to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Local 
affairs were then regulated by the ordinances of the governor alone till 1774, 
when under an act of parliament a legislative council of twenty-three mem- 
bers was appointed by the king. This form of government was changed in 
1 79 1, and the country was divided into an upper and a lower province, each 
of which was provided with a governor, an executive council appointed by 
the crown, similar to the privy council of England, a legislative council, the 
members of which were appointed for life by the king, and a representative 
council elected for four years. 

A long course of violent dissensions between the provincial houses of 
assembly and the executive governments reached their climax in 1837, when 
insurrections occurred in both provinces. In 1838 the Earl of Durham was 
appointed governor-general and high commissioner for the adjustment of in- 
ternal difficulties, and upon his report the English parliament passed an act 
for the reunion of the provinces in 1840, which was consummated 1841. In 
1844 the seat of government was transferred from Kingston to Toronto; in 
1858 Ottawa was made the capital; in 1865 the Canadian parliament con- 
sented to a federal union ; and in 1867 the Dominion of Canada was estab- 
lished by the union of Upper and Lower Canada, or Canada East and Canada 
West, with the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The vast 
Northwest Territories were purchased by the Dominion government from 
the Hudson Bay Company and incorporated in the Union 1870; the province 
of Manitoba, formerly known as Assiniboia and as the Red River Settlement, 
was admitted the same year; British Columbia, established as a province in 
1858, joined the confederation in 1871 ; and Prince Edward Island united 
with it in 1873. 



CITY OF OTTAWA. 

TTAW^A is the capital of the Dominion of Canada. It is situated 
in the Province of Ontario, 88 miles above the junction of the 
Ottawa River with the St. Lawrence, 450 miles from New York, 
126 miles from Montreal, and 95 miles from the city of Kingston. It was 




578 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 



incorporated as a city in 1854. Prior to this it was called Bytown, in honor 
of Colonel By, who constructed the Rideau Canal in 1827. The scenery in 
the vicinity is very beautiful, and not surpassed by any in Canada. In the 
neighborhood are three magnificent cataracts. The first of these is the 




CHAUDIERE FALLS. 



Chaudiere Falls, on the Ottawa River, at the west end of the city. The falls 
at this point are spanned by a suspension bridge, connecting Upper and 
Lower Canada. Its great industry is lumber, its immense water-power being 
made use of in numerous saw-mills. The imports are about $2,500,000, and 

the exports nearly $5,000,000, annually. 
In 1858 Ottawa was selected by Queen 
Victoria as the capital of Canada. The 
erection of magnificent Government 
buildings Avas commenced in i860, the 
Prince of Wales laying the foundation. 
The Parliament buildings are probably 
as fine as an\- in America. The princi- 
pal railroads are the Canada Central 
lines and the St. Lawrence & Ottawa. 
The city is connected b}' steamer on the 
Ottawa River with Montreal ; the Rideau 
lAKLiAMKM ];riLi)iNGs, OTTAWA. Caual connccts it with Lake Ontario at 

Kingston. While the city derives its chief importance from being the seat of 
the government, the natural beauty of its surroundings and its fine architect- 
ural structures attract the attention of the tourist. Population, 1889, 48,750. 




PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. 




HE most populous province of the Dominion is situated between 
latitude 41° 30' and 50° 30' north, and longitude 74° 25' and 90*' 
30' west. It formed a part of the province of Quebec up to 1791, 
thence to 1840 was known as Upper Canada, and then re-united with Quebec. 
The census of 1881 gave it an area of 101,733 square miles, and a population 
of 1,923,228, of whom 976,- 
461 were males and 946,- 
'j^)'] females. Of the face 
of the country: 19,259,909 
acres were occupied, 11,- 
294,109 improved, 8,370,- 
266 under crops, 2,619,038 
in pasture, and 304,805 in 
orchards and gardens. 

The surface of the 
country is generally undu- 
lating, with several ridges 
or hills over 2,000 feet 
high in the Lake Superior 
region. In the south and 
west are the St. Lawrence 
River and Lakes Ontario, 
Erie, St. Clair, Huron, and 
a part of Superior, with 
many connecting rivers, 
affording a vast extent of 
lake coast and an abun- 
dant ocean outlet. The principal rivers are the Ottawa, Madawaska, Thames, 
and Trent, all of which are navigable by large boats for a considerable dis- 
tance. Its water-front cf 3,000 miles is provided with numerous bays and 
harbors, notably those of the Georgian in the west, Pigeon on Lake Erie, 
and Burlington and Quinta on Lake Ontario. The mineral wealth is varied 
in character and considerable in quantity, though as yet comparatively un- 




GREAT SOUTH FALLS, MUSKOKA RIVER, IN THE MUSKOKA RE- 
GION, KNOWN AS THE "HIGHLANDS OF ONTARIO." 



58o 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 



developed. Iron is found in large quantities, and lead, copper, antimony, 
arsenic, gypsum, marble, building-stones, gold, and salt are known to exist 
in numerous localities, while silver is abundant along the shores of Lake 
Superior. There are numerous large forests of valuable timber, particularly 
red and white pine. White fish, trout, and herring are plentiful; fur animals 
are still trapped by hunters, but strictly wild animals have almost entirely 
disappeared. Rut little manufacturing is carried on in the province. 

The chief industry of 
the population is agricult- 
ure, for which the soil 
and climate are well adap- 
ted. The of^cial returns 
of 1 88 1 embraced the fol- 
lowing figures in this line: 
wheat, 27,406, 091 bushels ; 
barley, 14,279,841 ; oats, 
40,209,929; rye, 1,598,871; 
peas and beans, 9,434,872 ; 
corn, 8,096,782 ; potatoes, 
18,994,559; turnips, 33,- 
856,721; hay, 2,038,659 
tons; tobacco, 160,251 
pounds ; and hops, 61 5,967 
pounds. Other farm prod- 
ucts were : butter, 54,862,- 
365 pounds; cheese, i,- 
701,721; wool, 6,013,216; 
maple sugar, 4,169,706; 
honey, 1,197,628; and flax 
and hemp, 1,073,197. The farm animals numbered 590,298 horses, 23,263 
oxen, 1,678,904 milch cows and other cattle, 1,359,178 sheep, and 700,922 
swine. The extent and value of the timber supply are shown by the fol- 
lowing productions in the above census year: white pine, 12,262,570 cubic 
feet; red, 1,848,927; oak, 8,448,263; tamarack, 1,515,360; elm, 2,925,382; 
walnut, 741,431 ; all other timber. 27,190,629; number of pine logs, 14,945,670; 
other logs, 7,621,610. The share of the province in the fishery catch of the 
Dominion was represented by five steam vessels with fourteen men, and 1,129 




S)UTH FALLS, ML .SKoKA K1\KK, IN THE Ml'SKOKA RIKIMN, 
KNOWN AS "the HIGHLANDS UF ONTARIO." 



I 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 



581 



boats with 2,101 men, and 928,008 fathoms of net, engaged in 681 fisheries. 
The product was 15,605 barrels of herring, 38,301 of white fiish, 55,497 of 
trout, and 18,817 of other fish, and 1,629 gallons of fish oil. The orchard 
products were 11,400,517 bushels of apples, 3,697,555 pounds of grapes, and 
644,707 bushels of other fruits. 

The executive authority, like that of all the provinces, is vested in a Lieu- 
tenant-Governor; the legislative in an assembly composed of one member 
from each of the eighty 
two districts into which the 
province is subdivided, 
elected for four years; and 
the judicial in the courts of 
Queen's bench, common 
pleas, and appeal, each with 
a chief justice and three 
judges, beside whom there 
are one chancellor and two 
vice-chancellors. The prin- 
cipal cities are Ottawa, the 
capital of the Dominion; 
Toronto, the capital of the 
province; Hamilton, Lon- 
don, and Kingston. The 
province has an excellent 
system of free public 
schools, beside many Ro- 
man Catholic educational 
institutions. All children 
between the ages of seven 
and twelve years of age are required to attend some school during a specified 
portion of each year. The public schools are under the control of a min- 
ister of education, who is aided by a chief superintendent. The school popu- 
lation in 1 88 1 was 405,857, for whom there were 410 high schools and 5,313 
elementary schools. There were also seventeen colleges and universities and 
forty-four boarding schools. In the same year there were 5,075 churches, of 
which number the Methodists had 2,375, the Presbyterians 852, the Church 
of England 680, the Baptists 389, and the Roman Catholics 367. The chari- 




HIGH FALLS IN THE LAKE Ml SKOKA REGKiN, KNOWN AS THE 
"highlands of ONTARIO." 



582 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA 



table institutions included twenty-one hospitals and twenty-two orphanages. 
The province had 5,223 miles of railroad in operation. 




CITY OF TORONTO. 

ORONTO, a port of entry and the capital city of the Province of 
Ontario, is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, 165 miles 
J from Kingston, and 320 miles southwest of Montreal. It is con- 
nected with Canada and the United States by the Grand Trunk Railway and 
numerous other lines. Its industries are extensive, and consist of iron foun 

dries, rolling-mills, car- 
shops, breweries, distill- 
eries, machine-shops, car- 
riage factories, soap- 
works, tanneries, boot 
and shoe factories, flour- 
mills, and cabinet-ware 
factories. It is over two 
miles in length from east 
to west, is bounded on 
the south by the Bay of 
Toronto, a spacious inlet 
of Lake Ontario, and is 
one and a half miles broad 
from south to north. The 
situation of the to^^•n is 
low and flat. The most 
elevated q u a r t e r — the 
Queen's Park in the west, 
containing the University, 
Observatory, and hand- 
some private residences — 
is only from 100 to 200 feet above the level of the lake. The harbor or 
bay is a beautiful sheet of water, about five miles long and one mile in 
width. It is separated from the lake by a long, narrow strip of land, except 
at its entrance. It is capable of accommodating the largest vessels that 




TiiL i;kii>al \i;il 1 all. 

KNOWN AS THE ' 



IN IIIK l.AKE MTSKOKA KElilON, 
HIGHLANDS OK ONTARIO." 



HER PROVINCES. AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 583 

navigate the lakes and is defended at the entrance by a fort, mounted with 
the most efificient modern ordnance. 

Toronto has much the appearance of an English town, and is distinguished 
for the number and beauty of its churches, many of which are surmounted 
by handsome spires. The principal are St. James' Cathedral (Anglican), a 
noble edifice in early English, erected in 1852; St. Michael's Cathedral 
(Roman Catholic); Knox's Church and St. Andrew's (Presbyterian); the 
Metropolitan (Methodist); and the Unitarian Chapel. Toronto is the foun- 
tain-head of the Canada school system, and its educational institutions are 
numerous and well-appointed. The University, charmingly situated in the 



TORONTO UNIVF.RSITY. 



well-wooded Queen's Park, was inaugurated in 1843. Trinity College and 
the Upper Canada College have numerous students. Knox's College, re- 
cently built, is the Presbyterian theological hall. The University Park, with 
its beautiful monument to the volunteers who fell at Ridgeway, and the 
Horticultural Gardens, are frequented by all classes of the community. 
There are also the Normal and Model schools, in the first of which teachers 
exclusively are trained. Attached to the University is the Observatory. 
There are many benevolent institutions and handsome ofificial buildings. It 
is the seat of the Supreme Courts of the Province, and contains the Legisla- 
tive buildings, the Government house, the Custom-house, and the Post-of^ce. 
There are two large theatres in Toronto. During open navigation magnifi- 



584 THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

cent steamers ply in all directions on the lake. The exports are manufact- 
ured lumber, flour, wheat, and other grain. 

The name Toronto is supposed to be of Indian origin. The town was 
founded in 1794 by Governor Simcoe. It was incorporated in 1834, was 
burned by the Americans in 181 3, and suffered severely in the insurrection 
of 1837, on which occasion it was the headquarters of the rebellion, as also 
from fire in 1849. Population in 1870, 56,000; 1886, 80,000; 1889, 166,809. 



CITY OF HAMILTON. 




AMILTON is a city in the Province of Ontario. It is situated on 
Hamilton Bay, formerly Burlington Bay, at the west end of Lake 
Ontario, and is 38 miles from Toronto, 378 miles from Montreal, 
and 43 miles from Niagara Falls. It is an important railroad centre ; the 
Hamilton & Port Dover, the Great Western, and the Hamilton 81 Toronto 
roads radiate from this point; while it has by the great lakes and rivers water 
communication from Chicago, Duluth, and F'ort William at the West to the 
Atlantic. It is situated in the midst of the finest agricultural district. In 
1840 the population was 3,000; six years later the population was nearly 
7,000, and a city charter was obtained. This rapid increase was due to the 
railroads and the grain district in which it is situated. Its manufacturing 
establishments are extensive, and comprise steam-engine and locomotix'c 
works, large iron works, car works, foundries, and clothing, and sewing- 
machine factories. The last census of Canada, taken in 1881, showed that 
the capital invested was nearly one thirty-fourth of the whole capital in- 
vested in manufacturing industries throughout the Dominion. 

The city has ^t, churches, seven banks, and a large insurance company; a 
Young Men's Christian Association, and a fine public-school system, with 
5,000 pupils and 100 teachers; the Collegiate Institute and Training College 
has 600 students, with i 5 masters and teachers. There are also five separate 
Catholic schools in Hamilton, and a Methodist College for young women ; 
numerous charitable institutions, the Hamilton Association for investigating 
natural history, botan)', etc., and private institutions for commercial and 
business training. Population in 1889, 43,250. 



CITY OF KINGSTON. 




INGSTON is a city in the Province of Ontario. It is situated on 
the northeast shore of Lake Ontario, where the waters of the 
Canadian lakes issue into the St, Lawrence, and is distant from 
Montreal 198 miles, from Toronto 165 miles, and from New York 274 miles. 
It was the site of a French fort from 1673 till 1758; began to be settled by 
the British about 1783; was laid out in 1793; and was incorporated as a town 
in 1838, and as a city in 1846. On the union of the two Canadas, in 1840, 




KINGSTON FROM FORT WILLIAM HENRY. 



the seat of government was established at Kingston, but was removed again 
in 1845. The harbor of Kingston affords a most imposing and effective pict- 
ure. In the midst of the scene a storm-washed martello tower rises from 
the water, and beyond it is a granite battlement, upon the mainland behind 
which rises the shapely form of the City Hall. The public buildings of 
Kingston are all excellent examples of architecture. Across the channel is 
Wolfe Island, which is connected with the city by a ferry. Upon a prominent 
hill to the right is the large defensive work known as Fort William Henr}% 
and near it the Military college, which is the West Point of Canada. There 
is a decided military air to Kingston, due to this fact. The Thousand Islands 



586 THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

begin about Kingston, continue for some 50 miles down the river, and steam- 
boats run daily from the city to the popular summer resorts among them. 

The ship-building of Kingston is second in Canada only to that of Quebec. 
The Canadian Engine & Machinery company manufactures raihva}' rolling- 
stock on the most approved principles. Besides it there are several large 
foundries for the manufacture of engines and locomotives, of agricultural 
implements, edge-tools, axles, and nails. There are also large tanneries and 
breweries. Beside its outlets by water, Kingston communicates with all 
parts of the country by the Grand Trunk Raihva}-, which passes within two 
miles" of the city, and connects by a branch with the wharves; and by the 
Kingston and Pembroke Railway, which connects with the Canada Pacific. 
The shops and offices of the Kingston and Pembroke Railway are in Kings- 
ton. Next to Quebec and Halifax, Kingston is the most important military 
position in British America. Queen's University and College at Kingston is 
one of the most popular and progressive of the great educational institutions 
of Canada. It was incorporated by royal charter in 1841, for the education 
of a Presbyterian ministry, and has since instituted the additional faculties of 
law and medicine. There are also a Catholic institution called Regiopolis 
College, the County grammar school, and the common schools, besides sev- 
eral private academies. The provincial penitentiary and the asylum for the 
insane, and local hospitals and homes for the poor are situated in the cit}'. 
In 1862 Kingston became the seat of the new English bishopric of Ontario. 
Man)' beautiful homes adorn the suburban a\'enues. Population in 1871, 
12,407; 1886, 20,000; 1889, 23,175. 




CITY OF LONDON. 

ONDON is the chief city of the county of Middlesex, Ontario. It 
is situated at the junction of the two branches of the Thames 
River, about 1 14 miles west-southwest from Toronto, with which 
it is connected b}- the Great Western Railwa)-. The site of the cit)- began 
to be cleared and laid out in 1825; in 1852 the population waS' 7,124. When 
the city was called London, the ri\'cr, which had formerly been known by an 
Indian name, received that which it now bears; a W^estminster and a Black- 
friars bridge were thrown o\'cr it; and the names gi\-cn to the principal 
st'eets and localities still seem to indicate a tlcsire to make it a reproduction. 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 



587 



as far as possible, of the capital of England. It has an outlet by railway to 
every part of the American continent. The centre of a rich agricultural dis- 
trict, London carries on a large trade "in the produce of the country, while 
there are also many foundries, tanneries, breweries, printing-offices, and, out- 




LONDON, ONTARIO. 



side the city, large petroleum refineries. Huron College, Hellmuth College, 
and Hellmuth Ladies' College are the principal educational institutions. 
Population in 1889, 35,000. 




PROVINCE OF OUEBEC 

UEBEC, the oldest province in the Dominion, is situated between lati- 
tude 45° and 53° 30' north, and longitude 57° 8' and 79° 30' west, 
and was formerly known as Lower Canada. The census of 1881 
gave it an area of 210,000 square miles and a population of 1,359,027. Of the 
total land area, 12,625,877 acres were occupied, 6,410,264 improved, 4,147,- 
984 under crops, 2,207,422 in pasture, and 54,858 in orchards and gardens. 

That part of the province lying north of the St. Lawrence is rocky and 
mountainous, while the southern part is mostly hilly. It has a gulf coast of 
"1,164 miles, which is indented with numerous small bays, and a number of 
islands lying in those waters belong to it. The country is dotted with many 



588 THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

beautiful lakes, and watered mainly by the St, Maurice, Saguenay, Gatuinea, 
and the Richelieu rivers. Like Ontario, the province possesses considerable 
undeveloped mineral wealth, which embraces large veins of iron and copper 
and sm.aller ones of gold, silver, lead, platinum, and zinc. The climate, 
though subject to extreme variations of temperature, is generally healthy. 
It is much colder in winter and warmer in summer than in Ontario, the ther- 
mometer at Montreal frequently going as low as 30° below zero in winter and 
as high as 90° in the shade in summer. The soil in the valley of the St, 
Lawrence and the eastern part of the province is fertile, and there are large 
tracts of fine grazing country; but the greater part of the surface is covered 
with forests which supply vast quantities of timber for the lumber and ship- 
building industries. The chief woods are pine, ash, beech, birch, elm, and 
hickory. Some wild animals still frequent the forests in spite of the many 
lumber-camps, and the fur-bearing ones are sufificiently numerous to supply 
a trade worth nearly $200,000 annually. Manufacturing is chiefly confined 
to simple articles of domestic use. 

Outside the large cities the population is mainly engaged in farming, 
dairying, fishing, lumbering, and maple-sugar boiling. In 1881 the agricult- 
ural products were: wheat, 2,019,004 bushels; oats, 19,990,205; barley, i,- 
75^539' peas and beans, 4, 170,456; potatoes, 14,873,287; turnips, 1,572,476; 
buckwheat, 2,041,670; corn, 888,169; tobacco, 2,356,581 pounds; hops, 208,- 
542 ; and hay, 1,612,104 tons. The dairy products included 30,630,397 pounds 
of butter and 559,278 of cheese; there were 273,852 horses on the farms, 49,- 
237 oxen, 900,096 milch cows and other cattle, 889,833 sheep, and 329,199 
swine; and the farmers raised 2,730,544 pounds of wool and 865,340 of flax 
and hemp. The fisheries of the province, more extensive than those of 
Ontario, employed 14,744 men, 146 vessels, and 6,761 boats, and yielded a 
product of 462,388 quintals of cod, 130,354 barrels of herring, 10,725 of 
mackerel, 4,360 of sardines, 517,734 pounds of canned lobster, 101,861 barrels 
of other fish, and 263,374 barrels of fish oil. The lumbering industry gave 
returns of 5,495,183 cubic feet of pine, 59,587 of oak, 2,707,745 of tamarack, 
2,784,395 of birch and maple, and 14,612,669 of other timber. From the 
total 13,582,407 logs and 104,248 masts and spars were cut. Other products 
of note were 15,687,835 pounds of maple-sugar, 559,024 of honey, 777,557 
bushels of apples, and 158,031 pounds of grapes. 

The executive authority is vested in a Lieutenant-Governor, who is aided 
by an executive council and a premier and commissioner of public works, a 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 589 

solicitor-general, a commissioner of crown lands, and a provincial secretary; 
the legislative in a council consisting of twenty-four members appointed by 
the Lieutenant-Governor for life, and an assembly composed of one repre- 
sentative from each of the sixty-five electoral districts chosen for four years; 
and the judicial in a court of queen's bench and a superior court, each hav- 
ing a chief justice and the former four puisne judges. The province has 
twenty-four representatives in the Senate branch of the Dominion parlia- 
ment. The principal cities are Quebec, the capital of the province and the 
great seaport of the Dominion, and Montreal, the commercial metropolis of 
both province and Dominion, situated at the junction of the Ottawa and St. 
Lawrence rivers. The province has a well-regulated and effective school 
system, under control of a superintendent of education. The school popula- 
tion in 1 88 1 was 209,623 ; number of elementary public schools, 4,404, with 
170,858 pupils; colleges, forty-four ; academies, 246; special schools, eighteen ; 
normal, three; and model, 333. The prevailing form of religion was the 
Roman Catholic, which had 712 churches and 1,170,718 adherents. The 
Presbyterians were second in number, 184,706. The total number of churches 
was 1,280. The Church of England had a bishop at Montreal, ranking as 
Metropolitan of Canada, and another at Quebec; the Roman Catholic Church 
had an archbishop at Quebec, and bishops at Montreal, Ottawa, Three Rivers, 
St. Hyacinthe, and Rimouski ; the Presbyterian Church of Canada is a 
branch of the Kirk of Scotland, and the Canadian Presbyterian Church is an 
independent body. The charitable institutions included twenty-nine hospitals 
and eleven orphanages. The province had 1,911 miles of railroad in operation. 





S? 


? 


2^ 


M 


a^. 



CITY OF QUEBEC. 

UEBEC is a fine commercial city in the Province of Quebec, and is 
considered the most important military position in British North 
America. It is situated at the junction of the St. Lawrence and. 
St. Charles rivers, on a steep ridge or promontory formed by the rivers. It 
is 180 miles northeast of Montreal, 500 miles northeast of Toronto, 578 miles 
north-northeast from New York, 360 miles from the sea, and 2,070 miles from 
Liverpool. The Grand Trunk Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway, and 
the Quebec Central Railway, connect it with the systems of railroads in 
Canada and the United States. 



590 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 



In 1534, under the patronage and direction of Francis I. of France, the 
navigator, Jacques Cartier, started from St. Malo with three ships upon an 
exploring voyage, entered the river St. Lawrence upon the festival day of 
the saint, of that name, and upon the 14th of September reached the bold 
promontory where the citadel stands, under the shadow of which he found 
the Indian village of Stadacona, a name popular with the people to this day. 
Nearly a century later, in the year 1608, Samuel de Champlain appeared 

upon the scene, and Quebec 
had its real beginning. 
Champlain also found and 
named the Richelieu River, 
after Cardinal Richelieu, the 
founder of the trading com- 
pany of " One Hundred As- 
sociates," under whose direc- 
tion he operated. He also 
found the Ottawa and the 
American lake that still 
bears his name. He intro- 
duced the order of the Re- 
collet Friars into Canada, 
and these were followed 
quickly b)' the more power- 
ful and enterprising Jesuits, 
who toiled with heroic ardor 
among the Indians and set- 
tlers, uniting the clerical of- 

WOLFE'S MONUMENT, QUEBEC. ^^^ ^^.j^j^ ^J^^^^ ^f ^J^^ CXplorer. 

In 1663 the population of Quebec was but 800 souls, and about this time 
Louis XIV., the reigning monarch, assumed control of the colony of New 
France, and the trading company lost its prestige. It continued to be the 
centre of French trade and Roman Catholic missions in North America till 
1759, when it fell into the hands of the British by the memorable victory of 
Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham above the city, — Wolfe, the English com- 
mander, whose character, portrayed so vividly in " The Virginians," has 
charmed the readers of a generation. He came to extend the dominion of 
the British crown.. Wolfe and his veteran Highlanders and Grenadiers scaled 




HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 



591 




VIEW FROM THE CITADEL, (JUEIJEC. 



the precipitous heights, and fought upon the Plains of Abraham against the 
soldiers of Montcalm, and the tourist of to-day sees behind the superb Duf- 
ferin Terrace a unique monument, probably the only such shaft in the world, 
in joint memory of the two opposing generals 
who 'fell upon that day. Fifteen years later, 
Arnold, the destined traitor of the Revolution- 
ary cause, coming down the valley of Chaudiere, 
and Montgomery by Lake Champlain, joined in 
the siege of the cit}^ Montgomery was killed 
at the first assault, and Arnold's subsequent 
efforts were abortive. Quebec remained the 
chief city of Canada till the British settlements 
in the west were erected into a separate prov- 
ince, when it became the capital of Canada 
East, now forming the Province of Quebec. 

Quebec is the Gibraltar of America, and its 
picturesque old-world battlements, its imprac- 
ticable streets, its landmarks of history still abundant, and its un-Anglo- 
Saxon ways attract the attention of the tourist. The walled portion of Que- 
bec is triangular in shape and three miles in 
extent. The wall is pierced by five gateways; 
three of these communicate with the lower 
town. St. Louis Gate, a beautiful Norman 
structure, leads to the battle-field, while St. 
John's Gate is the outlet to Beauport and St. 
Rochs. The gate by which strangers enter the 
upper town from trains and boats was removed 
some years ago to facilitate travel. The lead- 
ing attractions within the walls are the Ursu- 
line Convent, the Seminary, the great Laval 
University, the English and French cathedrals, 
and above all, the outlook from the DufTerin 
Terrace. 

WOLFE'S COVE, QUEBEC. jj^g hlghcst poiut of thc City is Cape Dia- 

mond, on which is built the citadel, about 350 feet above the Avater. From 
this point it extends or slopes down to the river St. Charles. The upper and 
lower towns are so named on account of the difference in elevation. Quebec 




592 THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

is only second to Montreal in Canada in the importance of its commerce. 
About 600 vessels enter the port annually from the Atlantic Ocean, and as 
many pass in front of the city to go to Montreal. It is one of the great 
lumber and timber markets of North America. The imports amount to $8,- 
000,000, and exports $13,000,000, annually. Ship-building is conducted on 
an extensive scale. The chief industries are the boot and shoe and the 
leather manufactures. It has lines of steamers connecting with Liverpool, 
Glasgow, and London, and numerous lines with the gulf, coast, and river 
towns. The view from the citadel of Quebec is one of the most magnificent 
in the world, and the scenery in its neighborhood, amidst which arc the 
Falls of Montmorenci, adds greatly to the attractions of the city. It con- 
tains a seminary for the education of Catholic clergy, established in 1636. 
Quebec is the seat of a Catholic archbishop, who is (1889) Cardinal Tasche- 
reau, and an Episcopal bishop. The Church of Scotland and other denomi- 
nations are also represented. Population in 1871, 59,699; 1886, 75,000; 1889, 
78,500. 



CITY OF MONTREAL. 




ONTREAL is the great commercial metropolis of Canada, and the 
largest city of British North America. It is in the Province of 
Quebec, situated on the Island of Montreal. This island is formed 
by the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers, and is separated from the mainland 
by the Back River, or, as the French prefer to call it, the Riviere des Prairies ; 
it is 180 miles southwest of Quebec and 200 miles northeast of Lake Ontario, 
406 miles north of New York, and 310 miles northeast of Toronto, 3,200 from 
Liverpool, and 600 miles from the mouth of the St. Lawrence. Situated at 
the head of the ocean navigation of the St. Lawrence, Montreal has naturally- 
become the depot for the exports and imports of all the Canadas. Its harbor 
admits vessels of 3,500 tons, and is 3 miles in extent. It is lined with wharves 
for a mile and a quarter, and is, from its inland position (90 miles above the 
influence of the tides), perfectly safe. At the same time, the obstruction to 
vessels sailing further up the river, caused by the rapids, has been sur- 
mounted by magnificent canals. It is in immediate connection with the vast 
lumber country adjoining the former river and its tributaries. While naviga- 
tion is open, an extensive daily traffic is carried on by steamers and sailing 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 595 

vessels of every dscription with Lake Ontario and the Ottawa district, as well 
as with the lower St. Lawrence; and the ships of several ocean steamship 
companies keep up a weekly communication with Liverpool, w^iile at the 
same time the harbor is constantly crowded with vessels from other foreign 
ports. 

After the navigation of the St. Lawrence is closed (December to April), 
the ocean steamers find a harbor at Portland, Maine, which is connected with 
Montreal by a railway of 292 miles. This line belongs to the Grand Trunk 
Railway Company, and crosses the St. Lawrence at Montreal by the cele- 
brated tubular Victoria Bridge, the length of which, including its two abut- 
ments and 24 piers, is above a mile and three-quarters. By the lines of the 
same company, Montreal has railway corhmunication with Upper Canada, 
the Western States, and Lower Canada, while the Intercolonial Railway 
opens up communication with Halifax and St. John. Several other lines, 
including the Canadian Pacific, afford communication with various parts of 
Canada and the United States. The position, therefore, of Montreal as a 
centre of commerce is perhaps unequalled, and its rapid advance in conse- 
quence has placed it, within the last few years, among the first commercial 
cities of the American continent. 

The most conspicuous building in Montreal, which is also one of the finest 
churches on the continent of America, is the Roman Catholic Cathedral. 
Built in the Gothic style of the thirteenth century, it comprises seven chapels 
and nine aisles. Its bells are famous, one of them bein<y ranked amonc the 
five largest in the world. It accommodates 10,000 people. It has numerous 
turrets and two imposing towers on the main front which are 250 feet in 
height ; and its chief window is 64 feet high and 32 broad. There are several 
other Roman Catholic churches belonging to the order of St. Sulpice, to 
whose members chiefly Montreal owes its foundation, and who still hold the 
seigniory of portions of the island on which the city is built. Adjoining the 
cathedral is the Seminary of St. Sulpice, to which a large addition has been 
built recently at a cost of $40,000. The city contains also some of the largest 
convents in the world. The general wealth, indeed, of the Roman Catholic 
Church in Montreal has grown enormous, in consequence of the increased 
value of the propetry given to it during the early settlements. The church 
of England has a Cathedral erected at an expense of above $100,000, which 
is very chaste in style. St. Andrew's Church, the most important belonging 
to the Church of Scotland, is also a very chaste specimen of Gothic archi- 



596 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA 



tecture, and cost about $50,000. At about the same cost the Methodists 
have built a handsome church in the florid Gothic style. Besides the Roman 
Catholic College on Sherbrooke Street, St. Mary's College of the Jesuits, 
and a Baptist College, Montreal possesses an important university under the 
name of McGill College: founded by a bequest Qf the Hon. James McGill in 
181 1, erected into a university by royal charter in 1821, and reorganized by 
an amended charter in 1852. It ranks as one of the leading educational in- 
stitutions of the Dominion. Its fine buildings and extensive grounds are 
located in the upper portion of the city. 

Montreal is supplied with water by magnificent works, which cost about 
$6,000,000. The water is brought from the St. Lawrence, above the Lachine 

Rapids, by an aqueduct five miles 
long. The eastern suburb of Mon- 
treal, now incorporated as one of the 
wards of the city, called Hochelaga, 
was originally the site of an Indian 
village of the same name, discovered in 
September, 1535, by Jacques Cartier; 
and it is from his admiring exclama- 
tion at the view obtained from the 
neighboring hill that Montreal (cor- 
rupted from Mont Royal) derives its 
name. The most westerly permanent 
settlement which the French obtained 
in Canada, it was, under them, merely 
an outpost of Quebec, and continued to be such, under British rule, till 1832, 
when it became a separate port. Since then, the rapidity of its progress has 
been marvellous. The annual imports are about $100,000,000, and the exports 
$90,000,000; the latter consist of flour, lumber, grain, furs, fish, oil, etc. The 
principal manufacturing industries consist of flour, type foundries, woolen 
and cotton goods, steam-engines, various kinds of iron-ware, tools, cordage, 
rubber goods, paper, furniture, etc. The stranger who wanders along the 
business streets, if observant, will note the air of solidity imparted to the 
structures. They are largcl\- built of stone, and look as though they might 
endure for ages. 

Montreal has its French quarter, as well defined as that of New Orleans, 
and its English quarter. The active centre of the French population surges 




VICTORIA BRIDGE, CROSSING THE ST. LAWRENCE 
RIVER AT MONTREAL. 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 597 

around Bonsecours Market, a huge and stately building fronting upon the 
river, and up through Jacques Cartier square. Upon Notre Dame street, at 
Jacques Cartier square, stands the Nelson monument. The splendid man- 
sions on Sherbrooke street are chiefly occupied by English and Scotch mer- 
chants. Along the side of the " Mountain " there are magnificent mansions 
which command a grand view of the surrounding country. 

The " Bonaventure " is a " union " depot, and from thence arrive and de- 
part Grand Trunk trains, the Central Vermont, Southeastern, and other lines. 
The North Shore line has its depot (Quebec route) at the other end of the 
city, fronting on Notre Dame street. Montreal is a festive city ; is very 
proud of its battalions of volunteers, and takes keen delight in the achieve- 
ments of its lacrosse and snow-shoe clubs. The mid-winter carnival is now 
a fixed institution ; and it is really a fact, that to see the city under its most 
favorable conditions, one must visit it in January or February. 

The great Allan line of steamships gives dignity to the water-front views, 
and the vessels of half a dozen lesser lines are clustered along the wharves. 
In 1840 the population of Montreal was 27,000; in 1850, 53,000; in i860, 88,- 
000; 1870, 105,000; 1880, 125,000; 1886, 160,000; 1889, 189,215. 



PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA. 



OVA SCOTIA, the former colony of New Scotland, and more re- 
motely known as Acadia, or New France, combined with Cape 
Breton Island, is situated between latitude 43° 26' and 47° 5' north, 
and longitude 59° 40' and 66° 25' west. It was ceded by the French to Eng- 
land in 1 7 14 at the peace of Utrecht, and after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 
in 1748 a settlement of disbanded troops was formed there by Lord Halifax, 
whose name was subsequently given to the capital of the province. The 
original colony had an area of 15,677 square miles, but the incorporation of 
Cape Breton Island with it gave it a total of 20,907. 

It is connected with the province of New Brunswick by an isthmus thir- 
teen miles Avide, has a coast line of 1,200 miles, and varies in width from fifty 
to 120 miles. In the interior the surface is undulating and the soil generally 
fertile; on the coast it is very rugged. About 3,000 square miles of the sur- 
face are under water. In every part the lakes and rivers are numerous, leav- 
ing few places far from convenient water-carriage, or without eligible sites 



598 THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

for flour and saw mills. The shore is lined with numberless inlets, within 
which small craft sail in smooth water while there is the heaviest sea outside. 
The chief inlets are Sheet Harbor, eastward from Halifax, and, westward 
from it, Margaret's Bay, Mahone Bay, and Shelburne Harbor, all of them 
deep and spacious basins. Halifax Harbor is one of the finest roadsteads in 
the world, and is the principal British naval station of North America: 

The geological formations are granite, gneiss, mica-slate, and metamor- 
phic rock. The trap regions contain gems and neolites; the sandstone, beds 
of gypsum and rock Salt ; the coal-measures valuable fields of coal, particu- 
larly in the Cumberland and Pictou fields; iron ore occurs in large quantities 
in connection with coal; specular iron ore is found south of the Cobequid 
Hills; copper-ore exists in several places, particularly at Cape d'Or; lead ore 
is frequent in the limestone at Guy's River; excellent mill and grindstones are 
found near Cape Canso and elsewhere; the finest freestone for building pur- 
poses abounds along the northern shore ; valuable slate is taken from the 
central region; and salt-springs of great strength are numerous between the 
Basin of Mines and Northumberland Strait. The climate is healthy, bracing, 
and considerably modified by the nearly insular position of the province. 
The winter season varies in length and severity, but the influence of the Gulf 
Stream renders the harbors on the Atlantic coast accessible all the year 
round, while the parts on the northern coast may be frozen up a period of 
four months. At no time is the cold oppressive, nor is the heat of summer, 
except for occasional brief periods, excessive. 

The census of 1881 gave the entire province a population of 440,572, com- 
posed chiefly of English, Scotch, and Irish. The main occupations are farm- 
ing and fishing. A considerable trade is done in ship-building and distilling. 
The manufactures include cloths, flannels, bed linen, blankets, carpets, paper, 
tobacco, leather, agricultural implements, stoves, rope, and chain cables. The 
exports, which in 188 1 amounted to $9,217,295, embraced timber of all sorts, 
plank, deal, spars, staves, cord-wood, fish, dry and pickled, smoked herring, 
seal-skins, oil, coal, gj-psum, grindstones, butter, potatoes, and other vege- 
tables; and the imports, valued at $8,701,589, British manufactures, wines, 
spirits, beef, pork, sugar, and tobacco. The )'ield of coal in that year was 
1,365,800 tons ; grain products, 5,570,444 bushels; potatoes, 6,961,016 bushels ; 
ha)', 414,046 tons; and timber of all kinds and forms, 3,144,323 cubic feet. 
The fisheries employed 755 vessels and 13,214 boats; many of them of do- 
mestic build, and 26,900 men, and yielded 715,781 quintals of cod, haddock, 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 599 

and hake, 301,756 barrels of other fish, 3,841,467 pounds of lobster, and 
275,352 gallons of fish oil. 

The executive authority is vested in a Lieutenant-Governor and an ex- 
ecutive council, aided by an attorney-general, a premier and provincial secre- 
tary, and a commissioner of public works and mines; the legislative in a 
legislative council appointed for life and an assembly of forty-three members; 
and the judicial in a court of queen's bench, court of equity, and district 
courts. Halifax is the capital of the province, and Sydney of Cape Breton 
Island. A system of public school education was established in 1826, and 
improved every few years up to 1864, when a plan was adopted that has since 
undergone but slight changes. For several years the annual expenditure for 
educational purposes has averaged $700,000. Grammar, high, and normal 
schools are maintained in each district, and there are a number of high grade 
and collegiate institutions, such as King's College at Windsor, on the plan of 
Cambridge and Oxford, Dalhousie College at Halifax, on the model of Edin- 
burgh University, Acadia College, Roman Catholic, at Halifax, and the Baptist 
College at Harton. The dominant form of religion is that of the Church of 
England, whose bishop and archdeacon are supported by the home govern- 
ment, and the clergy by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The 
Presbyterians rank second, and represent the Established Church of Scotland, 
the Free Church of Scotland, and the United Presbyterian Church of Scot- 
land. The Roman Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, and minor sects follow. 



CITY OF HALIFAX. 




ALIFAX, a seaport, and the capital of the Province of Nova Scotia, 
stands on the southeast or outer coast of the peninsula. The 
harbor is one of the finest in the world. It is entered from the 
south, extends northwards about 16 miles, terminates in a magnificent sheet 
of water called Bedford Basin, is spacious enough for the entire navy of 
England, and offers all the year round easy access and safe anchorage to 
vessels of any magnitude. Lines of steamers ply between Halifax and Lon- 
don, Liverpool, the continent of Europe, New York, Boston, and the West 
Indies. It is the great centre of trade for the maritime provinces of Canada, 
Halifax with its suburbs extends along the slope of a hill, and is over 
three miles in length, and averages about a mile in width. There are many 



6oo THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

beautiful residences on the northwest arm which runs from the harbor tliree 
miles inland. The dock-yard, covering fourteen acres, is one of the most 
extensive of the British Empire. A number of British war-ships are gener- 
ally moored off this dock-yard. The city is now the stronghold of the Im- 
perial army and navy in North America. All the entrances to the harbor 
bristle with batteries armed with the heaviest ordnance, and garrisoned with 
British troops. 

The principal edifices are the Custom-house and Post-office, the Province 
Building, Dalhousie College, Government House, Military and Provincial 
Hospitals, Admiralty House, Lunatic Asylums, schools for blind and deaf 
and dumb, and several fine common schools, penitentiary. Court-house, 
Academy of Music, a new City Hall, etc. There are 25 churches, a Roman 
Catholic cathedral, and residences for an Episcopal Bishop and a Roman 
Catholic Archbishop. It has three sugar refineries, a cotton factory, several 
boot and shoe factories, and a number of minor industries. There are seven 
banks and a government savings bank. Halifax has railway communication 
with the whole continent. It is the winter port of the Intercolonial and 
Canada Pacific Railways. It enjoys unrivalled shipping facilities and has a 
grain elevator. The parks and public gardens are famed for their beauties. 
Population, 1889, 46,780. 



PROVINCE OF NEW BRUNSWICK 



EW BRUNSWICK formed a part of Nova Scotia when known 
as Acadia, was first colonized in 1692, ceded to England in 171 3, 
settled by Scotch immigrants in 1764, and separated from Nova 
Scotia and given its present name in 1785. It is situated between latitude 
44° 35' and 48° 5 'north and longitude 63°47' and 69° 5' west, and bounded 
on the north by the province of Quebec, on the east by the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence, on the south by the Bay of Fundy, and on the west by the State of 
Maine. The census of 1881 gave it an area of 27,174 square miles, and a 
population of 321,233. 

The province is divided naturally into three regions. The northern is 
very hilly and even mountainous, with a table-land 2,000 feet above sea level, 
and numerous lakes. The central is divided from the northern by a line run- 
ning from Presque Isle, on the St. John River on the west, to the mouth of the 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 6oi 

Little Nipisighet River in the Bay of Chaleurs. The shores of this region 
are low; nearly all the rivers have sand bars at their mouths; there are but 
few good harbors ; timber-covered hills are numerous; and the eastern por- 
tion is quite level and the most fertile part of the province. The southern 
region comprehends the country along the Bay of Fundy, and from forty to 
fifty miles inland. In the western section is the greater part of Passama- 
quoddy Bay, an extensive sheet of water, branching out into several inlets, 
and forming harbors for vessels of considerable size. 

The bay is well known to tourists and sportsmen of the United States. 
It contains several islands, the largest of which are Campobello, ten miles 
long and two wide, and Deer, nearly seven miles long and three wide in its 
broadest part; while just below its entrance into the Bay of Fundy lies the 
noted Grand Manan, fourteen miles long and six or seven wide. East of St. 
John River the surface is rocky and sterile, but the region has several fine 
valleys, in which the rivers flow, mostly to the St. John, and in which there 
are several lakes of considerable extent. The principal rivers are the St. 
Croix, which separates the province from the State of Maine; the St. John, 
which has a flow of 400 miles; the Miramichi, lOO miles long and navigable 
for forty; the Nipisighet, nearly 100 miles long, with many falls and rapids; 
and the Ristigouche, which forms the northern boundary of the province. 

The natural resources of the province are red marl, gypsum, copper, 
plumbago, manganese, anthracite and bituminous coal, salt, sulphur, and 
amethyst, carnelian, and jasper. The climate is remarkably healthy, and the 
heat greater and cold more intense than under the same latitudes in Europe. 
Nearly the whole surface of the province is covered with forests, in which 
pine, fir, spruce, hemlock, birch, beech, maple, ash, and poplar abound. The 
chief agricultural products are wheat, rye, oats, barley, beans, peas, and buck- 
wheat. Flax, potatoes, turnips, red and white clover, and some small fruits, 
like apples, plums, and cherries are likewise cultilvated. Numerous wild 
animals roam the forests, tempting the skill of the hunter and trapper, and 
the rivers, lakes, and bays abound with salmon, trout, eels, perch, cod, mack- 
eral, and herring. In 1881 there were 849,678 acres in crops, and 392,169 in 
pasture. The grain products amounted to 5,490,896 bushels, potatoes, 6,961,- 
016 bushels, hay, 414,046 tons, wool, 760,531 pounds; and the farms contained 
52,975 horses, 8,812 oxen, 203,748 milch cows and other cattle, 221,163 sheep, 
and 53,087 swine. 

The government of this province is vested similarly to that of the other 



6o2 THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

provinces. No legal preference is shown to any form of religion, but the 
bishop of the Church of England takes precedence after the Lieutenant- 
Governor and the commander of the British forces on ceremonial occasions. 
A system of free public schools was established in 1871, and all the large 
religious denominations have high grade schools or colleges of a sectarian 
character. The principal cities and towns are: Frederickton, the capital, St 
John, the largest and most important city, St. Andrews, Woodstock, New- 
castle, Bathhurst, and Dalhousie. In 1881 the province was well equipped 
with telegraphic and railroad facilities, and had 1,148 miles of the latter in 
operation. 




CITY OF FREDERICTON. 

REDERICTON, the capital city of the Province of New Brunswick, 
is situated on the right bank of St. John River, between eighty-four 
and eighty-five miles from its mouth and in latitude 45° 55' north, 
and longitude 66° 32' west. It was originally built on a flat, bounded on two 
sides by the stream, but has since been considerably improved. The streets 
are laid out with much regularity, and though the greater portion of the 
buildings are of wood, of tasteful style and ornamentation, there are numerous 
structures of more substantial material. The public buildings of note are the 
government house, of stone, the provincial house, of wood, city hall, military 
barracks, court-house, exhibition building, custom-house, and jail. The edu- 
cational institutions embrace King's College, a Baptist college, a collegiate 
school, a number of admirable model and training schools, and several libra- 
ries. Among the ecclesiastical buildings are Christ Church Cathedral, belong- 
ing to the Anglican or Church of England, and eight other churches. 

The city is supplied with gas and good water, enjoys a considerable 
amount of trade from being a port of entry; but has not had such a rapid 
growth as St. John, or St. Andrew, the former being the principal business 
town of the province. Fredericton was founded by Sir Guy Carleton in 1786, 
shortly after New Brunswick became a province, and was first known as St. 
Anns. It was designated a port of entry in 1848, and incorporated as a town 
in the following year. Its population has been almost stationary, notwith- 
standing the fact that vessels of fifty tons burden can ascend the St. John 
River to it. The census of 1871 gave it 6,006 inhabitants, and that of 1881, 
6,218. 



CITY OF ST. JOHN. 

T. JOHN, the capital of St. John County, is the commercial metrop- 
olis and largest city of the Province of New Brunswick. It is 
situated at the mouth of the river of its own name, 190 miles 
northwest of Halifax. The harbor, which is protected by batteries, is good, 
and accessible to the largest vessels at all seasons of the year. The entrance 
of the river into the harbor is through a rocky gorge, about a mile above the 





ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK. 

city, spanned by a fine suspension bridge, 640 feet long and go feet above the 
water; also by a cantilever railway bridge completed since 1885, by which a 
direct line of travel is established, as formerly all passengers and baggage had 
to be transferred from the Intercolonial Railway to the New Brunswick Rail- 
road by ferry. The streets are wide, and meet at right angles. Some of 
them are cut 30 or 40 feet deep through solid rock, the city being built on a 
rocky peninsula, slanting down to the water. Since the great fire of June, 
1877, which destroyed the greater part of the town and caused a loss of about 



6o4 THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

$12,000,000, the buildings have been constructed chiefly of brick or stone. 
The principal pubHc buildings are the Court-house, the Insane Asylum, Post- 
office, City Hospital, City Hall, Opera-house, Academy of Music, Roman 
Catholic Cathedral, the barracks, the mechanics' institute, and the peniten- 
tiary. The city has a fire department, a police force, a system of water-works, 
gas, horse-cars, a fire-alarm telegraph, about 40 churches, several schools, 
banks, academies, orphan asylums, newspapers, good hotels, a natural history 
society, a historical society, etc. 

The city is governed by a mayor, and eighteen aldermen. It is connected 
with the New England states by the New Brunswick Railroad, and with 
Nova Scotia by the Intercolonial Railroad. The principal industries are ship- 
building, fisheries, and the lumber trade. The manufacture of machinery, 
boots and shoes, cotton and woolen goods, leather, carriages, edge-tools, 
paper, iron castings, steam-engines, etc., is carried on to a considerable 
extent. The exports, which average annually $4,000,000, are principally 
lumber shipped to Europe, the West Indies, and the United States. The 
imports are about $8,000,000 annually. Population, 1889, 28,000; including 
Portland at mouth of St. John's River, 45,000. 



PROVINCE OF MANITOBA. 



ANITOBA was formerly known as Prince Rupert's Land, and 
later as the Red River Settlement, because the first considerable 
settlement was made in the region of what is called in the United 
States the Red River of the North. It is situated between latitude 49° and 
50° 30' north and longitude 96° and 99° west, and is bounded on the north, 
east, and west by the Northwest Territories, and south by the State of Min- 
nesota and the Territory of Dakota. It was formerly a part of the enormous 
possessions of the Hudson Bay Company, who sold it to the Dominion gov- 
ernment in 1869. 

When its first Lieutenant-Governor undertook to exercise his authority 
the colonists deposed him and made a declaration of independence. This act 
led to the invasion of the new province by an expedition composed of regular 
British troops and Canadian militia in the summer of 1870; but a compromise 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 605 

was arranged with the disaffected colonists, and they were given full repre- 
sentation in the parliament. In 1881 it had an area of 123,200 square miles, 
and a population of 65,954, which was increased to 125,000 in 1883. The 
surface is almost entirely a level prairie, bisected by the Red River, which 
empties into Lake Winnipeg, and with the richest wheat soil in the world. 
The valley of the river which has made Dakota and Minnesota famous the 
world over for their great wheat farms, carries its remarkable fertility into 
the province and well up toward its mouth. 

The province is without mineral resources, and wood of any considerable 
growth is exceedingly scarce; it is purely and wholly an agricultural and 
grazing section, and as such the richest in the entire dominion. Its settle- 
ment has been accelerated by the wonderful narratives of the farming wealth 
and possibilities on this side the border. Of the entire domain, 2,384,337 
acres were occupied in 1881, 230,264 were in crops, and 250,416 were im- 
proved; 16,739 horses were employed on the farms, 12,269 oxen, and 48,012 
milch cows and other cattle; and the products were: wheat, 1,033,673 
bushels; oats, 1,270,268; barley, 253,604; butter, 957,152 pounds, and cheese, 
19,613. Wild game, fowl, and fish abound: wild fruits are plentiful; elk, 
badgers, and squirrels are the only wild animals of note. The climate is 
healthy, but subject to extreme changes, the severity of which is considerably 
modified by the pure, dry atmosphere. 

The government is administered by a Lieutenant-Governor, aided by an 
executive council of five members, and a legislative assembly of twenty-four. 
There were 88 churches in 1881, and the population was divided denomina- 
tionally as follows : Presbyterians, 14,292 ; adherents of the Church of Eng- 
land, whose head, the Lord Bishop of Rupert's Land, had his seat at Winni- 
peg, 12,297; Roman Catholics, who had an archbishop at St. Boniface, 12,246; 
Methodists, 9,470; Baptists, 9,449; the remainder were of minor sects or of 
no acknowledged creed. There were four colleges and five boarding schools; 
and the newly established system of public education had several elementary 
institutions in operation. A great hinderance to the development of the prov- 
ince for several years was the lack of adequate means of communication ; but 
this drawback was materially relieved by the extension through it of the 
Canadian Pacific Railway, which had 670 miles of road in operation within its 
limits in 188 1. And even with this great iron artery leading directly to its 
choicest sections, many immigrants thereto have since found it advantageous 
in cost or speed to seek their destination through the United States. 




CITY OF WINNIPEG. 

INNIPEG, the capital city of the Province of Manitoba, is situated 
on the west bank of the Red River of the North at the mouth of 
the Assinniboin, thirty miles southeast of the headwaters of Lake 
Manitoba, forty miles south of Lake Winnipeg, and sixty-seven miles north 
of St. Vincent, on the boundary line of the United States and British posses- 
sions. 

The rapidity of its growth is equalled only by that of some of the Colo- 
rado mining cities, and is a standing marvel in British eyes. This growth is 
due to two causes: the extreme fertility of its location, and the extension 
through it of the great Canadian Pacific Railroad. The site now occupied by 
the city will be more readily recalled by the elder generation by its former 
name, Fort Garry, and the fact that from its establishment in 1820 till the 
purchase of the section by the Dominion government, it was the chief trading 
station of the powerful Hudson Bay Company. Its name was derived from 
the fort, erected as a protection against Indian incursions, curious remains of 
which are still preserved. It has a warm but not oppressive climate in sum- 
mer, which, while it lasts, provides beautiful clear skies and bracing air. 
Vegetation is luxuriant in the rich, loamy soil, and its growth surprisingly 
rapid. The winters are severe, but the atmosphere is dry, clear, and invigor- 
ating. 

In 1868 Winnipeg was virtuall)' a wilderness. Two years later it had a 
permanent settlement of 215 persons. From that time it gained in popula- 
tion from 500 to 1,000 per annum, till 1881, when it had 14,700 inhabitants, 
street extensions of over 100 miles, nearly 3,000 dwelling-houses, and a prop- 
erty valuation of $6,585,067. Formerly the Hudson Bay Company enjoyed a 
monopoly of the fur trade; then it was scattered among the wholesale houses 
that had grown up under its shadow. In 1882 new buildings to the value of 
$6,000,000 were erected. In 1886, fifteen years after it was made the capital 
city of the new province, it had four grist mills, which yielded a product of 
flour with a market value of $1,062,500, and 129 manufacturing establishments, 
employing a capital of $2,050,766, and turning out products worth $3,229,724. 

The joint cause of religion and education kept pace with the material 
prosperity of the city; churches of all the denominations common to Canada 



THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 607 

sprang up and profited by the vigor and enterprise of tlie citizens; and after 
adequate provision had been made for the elementary educations of the chil- 
dren, efforts were put forth to establish a higher grade system, with the result 
that in 1886 the city possessed St. John's College, under the control of the 
Anglican Church; Manitoba College, founded by the Presbyterian Church; 
the College of St. Boniface, established by the Roman Catholic Church on 
the opposite side of the river; the University of Manitoba, and St. Mary's 
Academy. In the five years, 1880-86, the population more than doubled, 
being in the first year 10,000, and in the latter 20,238, or, nearly one-fifth the 
entire population of the province (108,640), according to a special census 
taken July 31, i! 



PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND 




HIS province, which was named in honor of Queen Victoria's 
father, lies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, east of the province of 
i New Brunswick, and north of Nova Scotia, is 140 miles long 
and from 4 to 34 broad, and between latitude 45° 58' and 47° 7' north and 
longitude 62° and 64° 27' west. It has an area of 2,131 square miles, and 
had a population in 1881 of 108,891. 

It was discovered by Cabot, June 24, 1497, and included in the territory 
of New France and called St. John's; was granted as a feudal tenure to Sieur 
Doublet, a French naval officer, in 1663; was taken by the English in 1745, 
restored to France at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle ; retaken by the English 
1758, and at the peace of 1763 confirmed, with Cape Breton, to England; was 
erected into a separate colony 1768; and was given its present name 1798. 
The surface is generally flat, with a soil adapted to agriculture and timber- 
growing. It is destitute of minerals, but has valuable beds of peat and con- 
siderable wealth in timber, which supports a large ship-building interest. 
The climate is salubrious and much milder than that of the adjoining conti- 
nent. Of its 1,365,400 acres, 1,126,653 were occupied in 1881, 596,731 were 
improved, and 467,211 were under cultivation. The various farm animals 
aggregated 328,734. The agricultural products were : grain, 4,301, 1 10 bushels, 
potatoes, 6,042,191, turnips, 1,198,407; dairy products: butter, 1,688,690 
pounds, cheese, 196,273; timber, 910,200 cubic feet; fisheries products: cod, 
18,736 quintals, herring, 21,501 barrels, mackerel, 91,792, canned lobster, 
3,275,316 pounds, oysters, 175,408 barrels, and fish oil, 8,139 gallons. 



6o8 THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

This province is governed in the same manner as the others of the 
Dominion, and is divided into three counties, King's, Queen's, and Prince's, 
each of which has four representatives in the legislative council and ten in the 
assembly. The land tenure has been a source of agitation in the province for 
many years. At the close of the last century the whole island was divided 
into sixty-six lots and distributed among various persons. As late as 1865, 
450,000 acres were held by occupiers in fee simple; 244,779 belonged to the 
government; 669,600 were owned by descendants of the fortunate sixty-six, 
of which 209,702 were held by tenants under lease; and 459,898 were unset 
tied. For a number of years the government has made a practice of buying 
up the interests of these proprietors whenever an opportunity was offered, 
and reselling the estates to the tenants on payments extending over several 
years. 

Education is provided for by grants from the public revenue, and in 1863 
the experiment was tried of supplementing the government grant by fees 
from the scholars and appropriations from the different districts, but it failed, 
and since 1867 the teachers' salaries have been wholly paid by the govern- 
ment. In the schools the Bible is read every school day without comment or 
remark, and children whose parents or guardians object to it, are exempted 
from attendance during the reading. The school population numbered 22,- 
711 in 1881, when there were 355 district schools, fifteen grammar schools, 
forty-six high schools, and three colleges, a Roman Catholic, an Anglican, 
and a Wesleyan, all at Charlottetown, the capital. Of the total population 
in that year, 108,891, 47,1 15 were of the Roman Catholic faith, 61,662 were 
Protestants of different denominations, and the remainder were of other 
faiths than the Christian. The total number of churches was 231. There 
were 200 miles of railroad in operation that year. 



CITY OF CHARLOTTETOWN. 

HARLOTTETOWN, the capital city of the Province of Prince 
Edward Island, is situated at the junction of the Hillsborough River 
with the York, on an angular piece of ground which rises gradually 
from the southern coast to the northwest, in latitude 46° 15' north, and longi- 
tude 63° 7' west. The two rivers, together with the Elliott, form the inner 
harbor, which is a well-sheltered basin about three miles wide, whence the 




HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 609 

three streams discharge their waters through a single channel about half a 
mile wide into Hillsborough Bay, which is locally known as the outer harbor, 
and is capacious and safe for vessels of any tonnage. 

The town is regularly built, with broad streets intersecting each other at 
right angles. The public buildings include the provincial house, a handsome 
stone edifice with ample accommodations for the legislature, public officers, 
and supreme courts of law and chancery, the old court-house, a post-office, 
and an asylum for lunatics and indigent persons. The chief educational in- 
stitutions are Prince of Wales, St, Dunstan, and Methodist Colleges, the two 
former receiving a part of their support from the government, a normal 
school, and a convent. There are nine churches, divided among the Anglican, 
Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and other denominations. 
The city has a valuable export trade in timber, deals, and dried and pickled 
fish, and imports chiefly British and American manufactures, and various 
articles of consumption. Population in 1881, 11,485. 



PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. 




RITISH COLUMBIA, composed (1889) of the old colony of British 
Columbia and Vancouver's, Queen Charlotte's, and several other 
adjacent islands which were incorporated with it in 1866, is in the 
northwest part of North America, extends from the United States boundary 
line to the Arctic Ocean, has Alaska on the west of its northern extremity, 
and is separated from the rest of the British possessions on the east by the 
Rocky Mountains. Its geographical position is between latitude 48° 19' and 
60' north and longitude 113° and 136° west. The census of 1881 credited 
it with an area of 341,305 square miles, all the islands included, and a popula- 
tion of 49,459, which embraced 25,661 Indians and 4,350 Chinese. 

The mainland is traversed by the Cascade as well as the Rocky Mountains, 
and its surface is generally mountainous, though there are large sections of 
arable land and much that is well adapted to grazing. Within its limits the 
Rocky Mountains present two noted peaks, Mt. Browne which has an eleva- 
tion of 16,000 feet, and Mt. Hooker only 300 feet less. West of the Cascade 
range the country is heavily wooded with dense fir and spruce forests, but 
eastward of it the surface presents an open tract till Caribou, the head of the 
mining region, is reached, and then heavily timbered land alternates with 



6io THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

fertile prairies. The country is watered by the Columbia and Frazer rivers, 
and at the delta formed by the latter, Burrard's Inlet, and Mud Bay lies an 
agricultural region of the richest soil, which only needs drainage and a good 
sea-wall to reclaim the whole, as was done at Matsqui, where the land is 
under cultivation, and potatoes, turnips, beets, and wheat of phenomenal size 
are raised. Gold and silver mining, coal mining, stock-raising, lumbering, 
and great manufactures offer extensive fields of industry to capital and 
energy. 

The coal supply is of marvelous extent, and beside the great veins which 
underlie Vancouver's Island, an excellent quality of the bituminous grade has 
been laid bare east of the Cascades on the Nicola River and in the vicinit)- of 
Marble Caflon. Large veins of marble and a great variety of choice building 
stone abound, and likewise the precious minerals. The vast bed of the 
Columbia River is full of gold, and large placer deposits are frequently met 
with along the banks of the Frazer, while there are known to be vast quartz 
veins throughout the province, still undeveloped from lack of capital to work 
them advantageously. 

There is a great abundance of wild game, including several species of 
deer, notably the beautiful caribou, foxes, martins, puma, grizzly, cinnamon, 
big black, and small black bears, wolves, cayotes, pin-tailed and willow grouse, 
ducks, geese, and the finest trout in the world. The supply of salmon is ex- 
tensive and practically inexhaustible, and several companies are carrying on 
large fisheries and canneries on the Naas, Frazer, and Skeener rivers. The 
climate is as mild as that of England, and the air is very dry. Vancouver's 
Island is separated from the mainland by a channel, variously known as 
Queen Charlotte's Sound, Johnston's Strait, and the Gulf of Georgia. The 
greater part of its area is mountain and barren rock ; the remainder exhibits 
the forest and prairie characteristics of the mainland. It was supposed to 
form a part of the mainland till 1789. Capt. George Vancouver discovered 
its isolation on his voyage to Nootka Sound, under orders from the British 
government to receive a formal cession of the territory from Spain, in 1792. 
In 1848 it was made over to the Hudson Bay Company on the condition that 
they should colonize it; in 1856 gold was discovered there, and in 1866 it was 
incorporated with British Columbia. Its area is estimated at 13,000 square 
miles. 

In 1 88 1 the land occupied in the province amounted to 441,225 acres, and 
improved 184,885. The grain product was 559,220 bushels, and potatoes 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 6ii 

556,193. Farm animals numbered 151,202; butter product was 343,387 
pounds, cheese, 33,252; value of fur product $153,442; amount of timber 
product, 2,427,882 cubic feet; number of fisheries, 406 ; and value of gold 
product, 1871-82, $20,000,000. The province is governed similarly to the 
others. The chief cities are Victoria, the capital, on Vancouver's Island, and 
Westminster, the seat of an Anglican bishop. 



CITY OF VICTORIA. 

ICTORIA, the capital city of the Province of British Columbia, is 
situated at the southern extremity of Vancouver's Island, in lati- 
tude 48° 27' north, and longitude 123° 25' west. The city stretches 
about three-quarters of a mile around the harbor, is lighted by gas, and since 
1864 has been provided with water brought from excellent springs by service 
pipes. The streets are regularly laid out, crossing each other at right angles, 
most of them sixty feet wide, with macadamized roads, and, generally, wooden 
sidewalks. The harbor accommodates vessels drawing sixteen feet of w^ater; 
vessels of deeper draft find ample anchorage in the neighboring and more 
important harbor of Esquimalt, which is on the south coast of the island, 
about forty miles inside the entrance to the Straits of St. Juan de Fuca, 
which separate the island on the south from the mainland. This harbor is 
four miles from Victoria by land and three by water, and connected with it 
by a broad and substantial road. A British naval station and an imperial 
dock-yard have been established at the harbor, and elaborate fortifications 
have been projected for the protection of the capital and the harbor, which 
is large enough to hold all the men-of-war that usually comprise the British 
American-Pacific squadron. 

Victoria contains numerous government buildings both of stone, brick, 
and wood, a theatre, public library and reading room, hospital, police and 
military barracks, breweries, foundries, a tannery, magnificent hotels, and 
many large brick and stone warehouses and stores. The educational and 
religious institutions embrace Church of England, Roman Catholic, Congre- 
gational, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Jewish churches, with elementary, 
grammar, and higher grade schools under their control. The climate is 
moist, cool, and generally delightful. Large quantities of gold, from the 



6i2 THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

Fraser River mines, coal, timber, dried fish, and furs, are annually exported. 
and much of the imports, chiefly manufactured goods, machinery, agricultural 
and household implements, are received by way of Portland, Or., and San 
Francisco. When Vancouver's Island united with British Columbia, Vic- 
toria and New Westminster were rival aspirants for the capital seat, and the 
former was chosen by popular vote at the suggestion of Queen Victoria, 
Population, 1881, 5,925. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES. 



HE largest province in the Dominion comprises the vast region 
stretching north from the provinces already described to the Arc- 
tic Ocean, extends a length of about 2,500 miles, with a breadth of 
1,500, and was estimated in 1881 to have an area of 2,934,000 square miles, and 
a population of only 56,446, mostly Indians. It is larger than the whole' of 
Europe, excepting Russia, and the greater part of the whole region is barren 
waste. 

What is called " the fertile belt " stretches 960 miles from east to west, 
with an average breadth of 250 miles, and comprising, therefore, 240,000 
square miles. At least one-fourth of this land has been ascertained to possess 
a very rich and deep soil, capable of growing an abundance of wheat, barley, 
potatoes, and all roots and green crops produced by the English agricultur- 
ist, while it is equally adapted to stock raising. In 1881 the land occupied 
amounted to 314, 107 acres, and improved, 28,833. The timber product was 
109,873 cubic feet, and the value of the fur trade $428,177. The region was 
purchased by the Dominion government from the Hudson Bay Company in 
1870. 

In 1875 an act was passed vesting the government in a Lieutenant-gover- 
nor and a council of five, of which the stipendary magistrates should be ex- 
ofiicio members, and in 1882 a portion was divided into four districts, Assin- 
iboia, with 95,000 square miles; Saskatchewan, the "fertile belt," 114,000; 
Alberta, 100,000; and Athabasca, 122,000. The law of 1S75 provided that 
as soon as districts of 1,000 square miles should contain a population of 1,000, 
exclusive of aliens and Indians, they were to be constituted electoral districts, 
and return a member to the council. Forty-four churches and a school pop- 
ulation of 578 were reported in 1881. Capital Regina. 




ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 

LTHOUGH this island was independent of the Dominion govern- 
ment and constituted a province of Great Britain, in 1888 a move- 
ment was offlcially inaugurated by its authorities to secure a 
poHtical union with the Dominion in the summer of that year; and, as at the 
time of writing all indications gave assurance of the consummation of the 
proposed act, the country is here treated as if it were at the time a sister 
province of the Dominion. It is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, at the mouth 
of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is separated from Labrador by the Straits of 
Belle Isle, and lies between latitude 46° 38' and 51° 37' north, and longitude 
52'' 44' and 59° 30' west. It has an extreme length of 370 miles, width 290, 
circumference of about 1,000, and area of 42,000 square miles, and had an 
estimated population of 185,000 in 1885. 

The entire Atlantic coast of Labrador, 1,100 miles in extent, is attached 
to Newfoundland and under its jurisdiction. The island has what is known 
geologically as an " iron-bound " coast, rising frequently in bold, lofty preci- 
pices, vertically, or nearly so from the sea. The outer exterior is mountain- 
ous, but the interior is a vast elevated and undulating plateau, \vith ranges of 
minor hills alternating with shallow valleys. One range of extremely rugged 
and desolate hills, reaching at many parts an elevation of upward of 2,500 
feet, extends diagonally across the island. 

The coast is deeply indented with large bays and inlets, the most promi- 
nent of which are Placentia Bay, having a width at its mouth of fifty-five 
miles and extending ninety miles inland; Fortune Bay, twenty-five miles 
wide and seventy miles extension; St. George Bay, forty miles wide; Notre 
Dame Bay, fifty miles wide and with arms reaching inland in some places a 
distance of eighty miles; and Trinity Bay, with inland extension of seventy 
miles. The largest river is the Exploits, which, after a course of 200 miles, 
falls into Exploits and Notre Dame bays, and drains an area of over 3,000 
square miles. Its upper waters, in two minor branches, flow into Red Indian 
Lake, which has an area of sixty-nine square miles, and is 468 feet above the 
sea level. The second river in importance is the Humber, which drains an 
area of 2,000 square miles, and falls into the Bay of Islands. This river ex- 
pands in several places into lakes of considerable size, notably the Grand 



6i4 THE DOMINION OF CANADA: 

Pond, which has a surface area of 192 square miles and includes an island of 
fifty-six square miles. The third river in size is the Gander, which drains 
2,600 square miles, flows through a lake of the same name, possessing a sur- 
face area of forty-four square miles, and falls into Gander Bay. 

Nearly one-third the entire surface of the island is occupied by its lakes, 
which, in general are well stocked with trout. But very little of the soil is 
productive agriculturally. The fisheries always have been and doubtless 
always will be the chief industry of the inhabitants. The known mineral 
wealth embraces gold, silver, copper, lead, marble, limestone, coal, and gyp- 
sum. Of these, the copper deposits are the most industriously and profitably 
worked. The first mine was opened in 1864 at Tilt Cove, on the shore of 
Notre Dame Bay; a second was discovered at Betts Cove, in the same dis- 
trict, in 1875 ; and the third at Little Bay in 1878. The total export of metal 
from these mines up to 1879 amounted in value to $4,629,889. In 1880 gold 
was discovered in quartz veins in the region of Brigus, Conception Bay. Sir 
Alexander Murray, the official geologist, made a thorough examination of 
the locality, and pronounced the indications favorable for systematic mining, 
whereupon New York and Boston capitalists invested nearly $2,000,000 in the 
auriferous fields. The climate is healthy, but variable. Dense fogs prevail 
in the vicinity of* the island, which, with violent gales, frequently render the 
coast very dangerous to navigation. 

Newfoundland and its vicinity constitute the greatest cod-fishing region 
of the world. The Grand Banks, which form the greatest submarine island 
on the globe, having a length of from 600 to 700 miles and a width of 200, at 
a depth of from ten to 150 fathoms, seem to have been the original home of 
this fish. The value of the annual catch of this fish alone averages $6,250,000^ 
and the exports reach 1,250,000 quintals of 1 12 pounds each. Next to this 
the most important fishery is the seal, of which anywhere from 300,000 to 
550,000 will be taken in a single season, representing an average of $1,026,896 
in market value. The herring fisheries will average $581,543 in value per 
annum, the salmon $1 14,505, and the lobster $104,000. 

The government is vested in a governor appointed by the British sover- 
eign, an executive council of seven members chosen by the dominant party 
in the legislature, a legislative council of fifteen members holding office for 
life, and a house of assembly comprising thirty-three members elected for a 
period of four years. There are also the usual judicial officers and courts. 
The right of suffrage is extended to all male subjects over t\\-enty-one years 



HER PROVINCES AND PRINCIPAL CITIES. 615 

of age who have occupied domiciles for two years. PoHtically the island is 
divided into seventeen electoral districts. The public debt amounted to 
$1,351,000 in 1883; the revenue of that year was $1,369,909; the value of im- 
ports, chiefly provisions and manufactures, $6,863,708; and of exports, mainly 
fish, $8,200,00. No ofificial discrimination is made between the various relig- 
ious denominations; the Roman Catholic has the largest membership, and is 
followed by the Church of England, Wesleyan, Presbyterian, and Congrega- 
tional churches. Education, being fostered by the government, is brought 
within the reach of all classes. It is arranged on the denominational system, 
and the government makes an annual division of about $100,000 among all 
denominations, according to their respective members. Besides many private 
and strictly denominational schools, there were in 1885, 416 public elementary 
schools, with 24,292 pupils, four academies, with 674 students, and two high- 
grade grammar schools. The population was estimated that year at 185,000, 
of whom 30,000 were engaged in fishing and 24,000 more in other branches of 
that industry. The capital is St. John's. 



CITY OF ST. JOHN'S. 

T. JOHN'S is a city and the capital of the Island of Newfoundland, 
situated on the east coast of the island. The city is 2,000 miles 
from Liverpool, 540 from Halifax, and 900 from Quebec. It has 
an excellent harbor, which is well fortified. Being the nearest port in 
America to Galway, Ireland (distance, 1,650 miles), St. John's has acquired 
importance in the commercial and political world in connection with steam 
navigation between the two continents. It has suffered severely from re- 
peated conflagrations; in 1846 it was more than half destroyed. 

At the entrance to the harbor are the Narrows; on the north side of the 
Narrows is a cliff over 300 feet high; back and above it is Signal Hill, 520 
feet above the sea level. On the other side of the Narrows is a hill, 650 feet 
above the sea, on which is a lighthouse. The Narrows will admit only one 
vessel at a time. The latter ridge of hills extends into the interior for miles. 
The city is built of brick, and is well situated on sloping ground on both sides 
of the harbor. Bridges and causeways connect the north and south sides. 
Over 1,200 vessels, having a tonnage of 250,000, enter the harbor annually. 



6i6 THE DOMINION OF CANADA. 

There are a dry-dock and marine railway. The business portion of the city 
is solid and substantial. It has several banks, 12 churches, a number of con- 
vents, 20 insurance companies, various societies, benevolent organizations, 
academies, colleges, theological institutions, a medical society, an athenaeum, 
two libraries, 13 newspapers, and two fine cathedrals (one each, Roman 
Catholic and Episcopal). Among the public buildings of note are the Gov- 
ernment-house, the residence of the Governor, which cost $250,000, the As- 
sembly building, the Court-house, the Public Hospital, and Market-house. 
The Allan line of European steamers has extensive wharves at this city. 
The manufactures consist chiefly of ship-bread, furniture, boots and shoes, 
iron-ware, and nets. The city has large storehouses, distilleries, tanneries, 
breweries, refineries, block factories, and steam seal-oil works. A large trade 
is done in exporting oil, seal, and cod. Its principal business is connected 
with the fisheries. It receives the large imports of the colony. Population 
in 1874, 25,000; 1889, 42,320. 




M EX ICO; 

The Republic, the Capital and Seaport; with other Places 
of Interest, Picturesque and Historic. 



EXICO as a country presents a more interesting and fascinating 
study than any other on the American continent. It has ex- 
treme age for the antiquarian; remains of long extinct dynasties, 
forms of government and peoples for the archaeologist ; a progression through 
incalculable bloodshed from the picturesque empire of the Aztecs to the 
republic, exhibiting in some parts the civilization, culture and spirit of ad- 
vancement of the nineteenth century, and in others much of the turbulence 
of revolutionary days, for the historian and political economist ; a volume 
of heroic suffering, persecution, ceremonial grandeur, spoliation, and ulti- 
mate toleration for the ecclesiastic ; a grand record of martial daring and 
achievement for the military critic ; all followed by an era of remarkable 
prosperity — a fitting sequel to its centuries of unrest — for the student of 
contemporary progress. In all the multiplicity of historical associations, 
both the country and city possess an enduring interest to all, and especially 
to citizens of the United States, once their masters by the stern arbitrament 
of war, now their friends by close political, social, and material ties, 

THE REPUBLIC. 
Mexico is bounded on the north by the United States, on the east by 
the Gulf of Mexico, on the south by Central America and the Pacific Ocean, 
and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. It has a northern frontier line of 
1,400 miles, a southern of 345, and a seacoast of 6,086; an area of 748,144 
square miles; and a population ofificially computed in 1886 at 10,460,636, 
of which 1,985,117 were white natives, European and American residents, 
3,970,000 pure Indians, and the remainder half-breeds. In 1889 its political 
divisions embraced twenty-seven states, two territories, and one federal 



6i8 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO: 



district. The chief cities with their population were: Mexico, the cap- 
ital, 300,000; Guadalajara, 80,000; Pueblo, 75,000; Guanajuato, 52,000; 
Merida, 40,000; San Louis Potosi, 35,000; Oueretaro and Zacatecas, each 
30.000: Oajaca, 28,000; Colima, 26,251; Saltillo, 26,000; Vera Cruz and 
Morelia, each 24,000; and Aguascalientes, 22,000. In the same year the 
federal army consist(^d of 18,894 men and 1,741 officers. The navy was 
limited to four gun-boats. The national debt, foreign and domestic, in 1886 
amounted to $162,737,650; the revenues of that year aggregated $30,625,000, 
of which $20,000,000 were from customs duties ; and the expenditures were 
$26,390,324, one-third of which went to the support of the army. Recent 

operations in developing 
the long-needed railroad 
system of the country had, 
in 1889, given to thirty- 
eight lines a total length of 
3,703 miles, and the tele- 
graph, including govern- 
ment, railroad, and private 
lines, exerted its magic in- 
fluence over 19,027 miles. 
The commercial relations 
with the United States for 
the four years prior to 1887 
show a very large volume 
of business. The exports 
from the United States to 




MEXICAN ADOBE HOUSE. 



Mexico were valued at $14,370,902 (1883); $11,089,603 (1884); $7,370,599 
(1885); and $6,586,077 (1886); while the imports into the United States from 
Mexico were $8,177,128 (1883); $9,016,486 (1884); $9,267,021 (1885); and 
$10,087,972 (1886) 

The government of the republic is founded on a constitution similar in 
the main to that of the United States, but which, however, has been laid aside 
and modified and amended frequently. The executive authority is vested in 
a president chosen by electoral colleges every four years; the legislative in a 
congress consisting of a senate, whose members are elected every six years, 
and a house whose deputies serve two years; and the judicial by a variety of 
judges, those of the supreme court being elected in the same manner as the 



HER CAPITAL, SEAPORT, ETC. 619 

president but for terms of six years, while those of inferior courts are ap- 
pointed by the president and governors of states or chosen by local elections. 
By virtue of his ofifice the chief justice of the supreme court is vice-president 
of the republic ex officio. The state and territorial governments are created 
and conducted for the most part like those in the United States, though as a rule 
the governors are military men and in sympathy with the policy of the chief 
executive. Since the restoration of the republic, after Maximilian's short 
and sad reign of imperialism, the government has extended liberal aid to the 
cause of education. As a result there were in 1886, 8,905 public schools and 
colleges, with an attendance of over 500,900 pupils, besides innumerable private 
ones. The former include special schools of law, medicine, music, agriculture, 
engineering, mines, fine arts, the sciences, literature, and military tactics, sup- 
ported by the general government in place of the famous University of 
Mexico, founded in the sixteenth century and conducted by religious teachers, 
which it abolished in 1856. The different states also maintain excellent 
common schools throughout their jurisdiction, and high schools in their capi- 
tals. The deaf, the dumb, and the blind are likewise adequately provided 
for, and there are many noble charitable and reformatory institutions. 

In the exercise of religious worship the people of Mexico are now per- 
mitted to follow their choice of form without molestation of any kind. In 
this respect the changes of the last half century have been very marked. 
Formerly the Roman Catholic faith was the only one tolerated in the country, 
and was the religion of the state, even in early republican days. At one time 
the Catholic Church, which sprang from the missions of the early Spanish 
fathers, owned nearly one-third the entire soil with all its wealth of minerals. 
During the period of 1856 and 1859 what are known as the " laws of reform " 
were enacted. These virtually confiscated to the government all the landed 
property of the bishops. and priests, closed the convents and schools, and led 
to the sale and conversion to public use of all ecclesiastical buildings which the 
authorities then considered superfluous. The constitution adopted in 1857 
recognized the equal right of all denominations to hold religious services in 
their individual forms, and put an end to all sectarian distinctions. Between 
1869 and 1 88 1 Protestant missionary work resulted in the establishment in 
the capital city of fifty-six churches with 10,000 communicants, seventeen 
Sunday schools with 963 scholars, twelve day schools with 465 students, a 
girls' normal college, and a theological seminary. The dominant religion, 
however, is still the Roman Catholic, and it had in 1889 three archbishoprics 



620 THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO: 

and twelve bishoprics. The " Church of Jesus," an organization modeled 
somewhat upon the general plan of the American Protestant Episcopal 
Church, but professing to be undenominational in its tenets and operations, 
was founded by the Rev. Henry Chauncey Riley, D.D., in 1868. To aid him 
in his work the government placed at his disposal the magnificent seques- 
trated Church of St. Joseph, and the chapel of the famous Church of San 
Francisco, both in the City of Mexico; and by 1884 he had established forty- 
nine churches, nine day schools, and two orphanages. He was consecrated 
Bishop of the Mexican Church of Jesus at Pittsburg, Penn., in June, 1879, ^y 
seven bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

Mexico is exceedingly rich in natural resources, the chief of which are 
silver and gold, the former being distinctively the staple production. Tiiere 
are eleven notable mines in the country, the oldest of which — opened in 1538 
— is in Mexico City. Careful records of the annual production of the 
precious metals have been preserved since 1537, and show that between that 
year and 1880 the gold and silver mines alone yielded a supply valued at 
$3,1 10,000,000. Near the close of the eighteenth century Humboldt estimated 
that a single mine, that of Veta Madre, in Guanajuato, produced one-fifth of 
the silver then current in the world. A mine in Zacatecas yielded $3,000,000 
per annum for many years successively, and those of San Louis Potosi the 
enormous sum of $150,000,000 in a period of seventy-seven years. And still 
the supply of silver seems to be practically illimitable. Others of the precious 
metals abound in corresponding prodigality. The Cerro del Mercado is a 
solid mountain of magnetic iron ore; copper associated with gold and lead 
with silver are found in considerable quantities in many states; and numerous 
mines of the red sulphuret of mercury or cinnabar are now being operated 
more freely than before, on account of the great demand for and high i^rice 
of quicksilver. Among other material resources of value are granite, marble, 
alabaster, gypsum, sulphur, and rock salt. Pearls are plentiful in the Gulf of 
California, and the richest amber is found on the coasts of Yucatan. 

Mexico has also a large agricultural wealth, susceptible of development 
far beyond its present state. Cotton is produced in the states of Coahuila, 
Durango, and Sinaloa; tobacco in southern Vera Cruz and Tabasco; cocoa 
in Tabasco, Oaxaca, and Soconusco; coffee in Michoacan and Colima ; and 
the most nutritious grasses, which feed innumerable herds of cattle, droves 
of horses, and flocks of sheep, are spread over nearly all the northern states. 
Indian corn, the staple food from aboriginal da}-s, wheat, barley, rice, sugar- 



1 



HER CAPITAL, SEAPORT, ETC. 



621 






cane, oranges, lemons, bananas, pineapples, and grapes grow almost without 
cultivation, so rich is the soil of the table-lands, plateaus, and central valleys. 
The employment of American methods and machinery has wrought wonder- 
ful changes in the agricultural development of the country, and given an 
earnest of what might be accomplished in a few years by a judicious and 
liberal application of forces, now only beginning to be understood and appre- 
ciated. 

The history of Mexico as a country is so unusually complex and volumi- 
nous that but little more than a mere chronology can here be given. On his 
last voyage Columbus approached the 
peninsula of Yucatan, but does not seem 
to have come within sight of it. Cordox a 
discovered the peninsula in 15 17, and 
two years later Cortez landed on the site 
of the present Vera Cruz, ascended the 
table-lands 
and was sur- 
prised to find 
the interior 
numerously 
inhabited by 
Aztecs, over 
whom Monte- 
zuma, a pow- 
erful chief, - was reigning as emperor, and 
also several independent republics. Tempted 
to conquest by Cordova's accounts of the 
richness of the country, Cortez kept up a continuous warfare for two years, 
and then succeeded in overturning the Aztec empire. From that time till 
1820 Mexico constituted a colony of Spain, though it was subject to fre- 
quent revolutions, and at one time, 1813, a national assembly was formed and 
the independence of the country declared. Early in 1820 Spain became dis- 
tracted with her own internal affairs, and while endeavoring to effect a union 
between the royalists and constitutionalists, Don Augustin de Iturbide, on 
the pretense of desiring to establish the independence of the country and 
yet preserve a union with Spain, gained possession of the capital, summoned 
a congress, and had himself proclaimed Emperor of Mexico under the title 




622 THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO: 

of Augustin I. His sovereignty lasted from May i8, 1822, till March, 1823, 
when the army rose against him, and he abdicated and fled to Europe, 
Shortly afterward the country was declared a republic, and a constitution 
substantially like that of the United States adopted. Iturbide attempted 
to regain his throne by an uprising in 1824, but was captured and shot. The 
republic was " proclaimed " by Gen. Santa Anna at Vera Cruz in Decem- 
ber, 1822, and under the title of constitutional president he became virtu- 
ally dictator. From thence till the overthrow of his fifth dictatorship, 
August, 1855, the country was rended by revolutions, had an expensive war 
with the United States, and possessed no stable or even respectable govern- 
ment. 

The " plan of Ayutla " was adopted 1855, a constituent convention was held 
1856, and it promulgated a constitution, February 3, 1857, which with subse- 
quent amendments, forms the present general law. The war of reform, 
already alluded to, ensued, a struggle between the adherents of the National, 
or Roman Catholic, Church, the army, and the aristocracy. The country had 
scarcely recovered from its surprise over the suppression and confiscation of 
the ecclesiastical property and buildings, when the period of French inter- 
vention opened, and was followed by the brief and luckless reign of the Aus- 
trian Archduke Maximilian as sovereign of the Empire of Mexico. During 
this period, 1861-67, Benito Juarez, an Indian, as constitutional president, 
directed the successful resistance to imperialism. His service as president 
was extended from December, 1857, ^'^^ ^^^^ death in July, 1872, and much of 
the present prosperity of the country is due to his firmness, liberal ideas. 
sound statesmanship, and prescience. He was succeeded by Lerdo de Tejada, 
and he in turn by Porfirio Diaz, an accomplished and successful general of 
the army, who, after a highly creditable service as president, was honored with 
a second re-election in July, 1888. 



CITY OF MEXICO. 




EXICO City comprises what is known politically as the Federal 
District. It is situated in latitude 19° 25' 45" north, and longi- 
.^u^**sl tude 99° 7' 8" west from Greenwich, built upon the ruins of the 
ancient Aztec capital and at an elevation of about 7,500 feet above sea 
level. It is divided into eight sections, having in 1889 an aggregate of 



I 



HER CAPITAL, SEAPORT, ETC. 



623 



304 streets with an average width of forty feet each, and containing 7,979 
buildings, exclusive of government, public, church, and charitable structures, 
valued at $114,738,000, as well as 7,047 buildings in which its commercial 
and industrial interests were carried on, and ninety public squares. The 
Presidential Mansion, formerly the palace of the viceroys, is an enormous 
building, three stories high, 500 feet long and 350 feet wide, and is built oa 
the site of the palace of Montezuma. It accommodates nearly all the 
public offices, including those of the heads of the different departments, 
and the senatorial branch of the congress. The most notable and con- 




CITY OF MEXICO. 



spicuous building within the city walls is the famous Roman Catholic Cathe- 
dral, begun in 1593 and completed sufficiently to be dedicated in 1677, at 
a cost of $1,757,000. Subsequent improvements and ornamentation brought 
the total cost up to $2,500,000. Its decorations, grand altars, priceless carv- 
ings, gold and silver enrichments, and its paintings and statuary, render it 
without exception the most gorgeous ecclesiastical structure in the world. 
Among the other buildings which, from their architectural design, historical 
association, or contents, challenge the admiration of all tourists, are those 
of the Mexican Inquisition, founded in 1571, and now used as a national 
medical school; the custom house; the convent of Santo Domingo; the 
National Museum, which contains a unique collection illustrative of the 



624 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO 



earliest history of the country, embracing an original sacrificial stone of the 
Aztecs, the world-famous Calendar Stone, and a statue of Huitzilopochtli of 
huge proportions; the Academy of San Carlos, established by King Charles 
III., of Spain, and filled with the largest and most costly collection of paint- 
ings on the continent; and the National Library, housed in the ancient 
church of San Augustin, which has been remodeled by the government at a 
heavy expense, containing upward of 150,000 volumes. 

Of the ninety public squares the largest and most beautiful is the Plaza de 

Armas, which is 800 feet 
long by 600 feet wide. 
There are numerous pleas- 
ure resorts in the city, of 
which the Passeo de Buca- 
reli, or public drive, is to 
Mexico City what Hyde 
Park is to London, the Bois 
de Boulogne to Paris, and 
Central Park to New York. 
It is the afternoon resort 
of the wealth and fashion 
of the city. Hundreds of 
coaches in all shapes and 
forms, as well as hundreds 
of gentlemen on horseback 
frequent it daily; but on 
Sundays and holidays the 
drive is in its glory. Mount- 
ciiuKcii nK .SAN imimim.o, ( I iv OF MKxico. ed poHccmen are stationed 

every hundred yards to maintain order and guard against accidents. The car- 
riages form a long line, going up on one side and down the other. The side- 
walks for pedestrians are wide, well paved, and provided \vith carved stone 
benches at easy intervals. An additional attraction is given them by two rows 
of trees composed of the eucalyptus, or fever tree, and the ash, planted alter- 
nately. The drive is macadamized its entire length, and the centre is re- 
served for equestrians. The promenade extends from the bronze equestrian 
statue of Charles IV. to the castle of Chapultepec, a distance of 3,750 yards; 
the width, including walks, is 170 feet. It contains six circular spaces 400 feet 




HER CAPITAL, SEAPORT, ETC. 625 

in diameter for monuments to eminent men. In the first is a magnificent 
bronze and marble statue of Columbus, and in the second a monument to 
Guatimozin, the last Indian emperor. This grand drive was laid out by the 
Emperor Maximilian, first, to secure the shortest possible route to Chapulte- 
pec for military purposes, and, second, to provide one of the most beautiful 
drives in the world. The Alameda and the Passeo de la Viga likewise are 

tempting resorts, but of 
less fashionable popu- 
larity. 

There are very few 
small houses in the city, 
nearly all being very com- 
modious though not tall, 
and as a rule each one is 
occupied by more than 
one family. In the princi- 
pal streets the houses are 
usually two and three 

^ .^ stories high. The wealth- 

^^C^^^j iest families rarely occupy 
more than one floor — the 
upper one — and often not 
the whole of that. The 
best three-story buildings 
generally contain from 
two to four habitations; 
each consists of a whole 
c\Mii ui cii^iiiiiiK, tnv Oh MiMLo qj. ^ half of a floor, and 

the front ground floor is almost invariably used by commercial, banking, 
or other business establishments. There is not a house of any pretentions 
whatever in the city without a court, on the ground floor of which are 
located the servants' quarters, coach houses, and stables. There is but one 
door on the lower floor, and none at all on the outside of the upper story. 
The door is very strongly built, and the opening high enough for a coach to 
pass through. It opens into the court, through which inmates pass to the 
stairway leading to the upper story. The tenement houses occupy large areas, 
and are built on much the same plan, with but one door leading into a court. 




626 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO 



and from which each occupant has entrance to his own apartment on the 
ground floor or the gallery above, which runs all around the building. In the 
central districts these houses generally ha\'e two stories, but as a rule one 
only when built at a distance from the business centre, and the}' sometimes 
contain as many as forty distinct habitations. 

In 1886, the business establishments of the city included 1,072 cigar and 
tobacco stores, 889 grocery stores, 670 pulque stands, 514 liquor saloons, 
390 restaurants, 275 butcher shops, 190 bakeries, 144 grain stores, 130 barber 
shops, 118 tailoring establishments, 171 carpenter shops, 174 shoe stores, 88 




MERCHANTS BAZAAR, CITY OF MEXICO. 

blacksmith shops, 79 drug stores, 68 hardware stores, 56 printing of^ces, 55 
bath houses, 72 dry-goods stores, 48 chartered and private banks, and 46 
cafes. There were also nine cotton, seven paper, and three woolen factories 
in the city and its immediate vicinity. The government has established a 
National Monte de Piedad, or pawn shop, and in addition to this there were 
73 others, private, with a joint capital of $483,872. During the latter half of 
1885, these pawnshops loaned the sum of $1,333,796 on various kinds of 
pledges, on which an average interest charge of 12^ per cent, per month 
was paid. 

The Municipal Government has liberally seconded the efforts of the Federal 
to provide facilities for educating all its youth without reference to color or 



HER CAPITAL, SEAPORT, ETC. 



627 



condition in life. The most notable institutions are the Academy of Fine 
Arts, the Mining, Engineering, and Medical schools, and the Military, Law, 
Commercial, and Agricultural colleges. In 1886 the various schools and 
colleges within the city numbered 316. with 712 male and 469 female teachers, 
and an average daily attendance of 12,775 boys and 10,385 girls, or 23,160 
pupils in all. About one-half of these institutions are supported by the 
Federal and Municipal Governments at an annual expense of $816,840, and 
the remainder are private en- 
terprises. ^- 

In the line of local transit ^■ 

the city had, in 1886, thirty- 
two lines of street railroads, 
beside eleven others which 
connected with the outlying 
towns, and five trunk railroads 
entered it from different di- 
rections. 

In its historical phase the 
city is more interesting than 
the country, because of its 
greater antiquity. It stands 
near the northwestern part 
of the valley of Mexico, about 
four miles from the mountains 
in the direction of the town 
of Guadaloupe. The appear- 
ance of the valley is that of 
an oval basin surrounded by 

mountains of every degree of entrance to palace, city of Mexico. 

elevation, from the Piflolos, or little rugged promontories, to Popocatepetl, 
the highest peak in Mexico, covered with perpetual snow. The site of the 
city was chosen by a barbarian chieftain, who found a lake (Texcoco), in the 
midst of which was a slight elevation of land or island, large enough to en- 
camp his tribe upon. There he built a town which was preserved through all 
the wars that ensued with neighboring nations because it was so easily 
defended. The date of the founding of the town is given as 1325, and it 
was named Tenochtitlan. At the time of the discovery of the country by the 




628 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO: 



Spaniards, it was a rich, flourishing, populous, and active city, the seat of gov- 
ernment and of religion. As previously narrated Cortez landed 15 19. For 
two years he sought the conquest of the city. The Aztecs defended it stub- 
bornly. Cortez besieged it for a period of seventy-five days, but the hosts 
of Montezuma held out till the invaders had almost entirely destroyed the 
city. As building after building was razed the fury of the Spaniards in- 
creased, and it was only after they had completed one of the most terrible 
slaughters on record that they gained absolute possession of the once beauti- 
ful capital. The building of the present city was begun about 1522. and it 
was named Mexico from Mexitli, the tutelary divinity of the Aztecs. 




PALACE, CITY OF MKXICO. 

The general knowledge of the early condition of the city is derive-d in 
large part from native pictures that survived the destruction of Cortez. 
They contained chronological histories, which had been prepared and pre- 
served with the greatest care. The most celebrated one of all was lost, but 
Humboldt has given an account of a copy of it. From this table it appears 
that the Toltecs migrated from a country north of the present city in A. D. 
544; that their monarchy was destroyed; that the Aztecs arrived there from 
Aztlan in 11 78; and that they founded Tenochtitlan, the predecessor of the 
City of Mexico, in 1325. From 1522 onward the history of the city and 
country has been so interwoven and so essentially identical that the outline of 
the country, already given, will suffice for a more detailed historical account 
of the capital. Population, 1889, 300,000. 



CITY OF VERA CRUZ 




ERA CRUZ, 

the chief 
seaport 
andcommercialcity 
in Mexico, is situ- 
ated on the coast of 
the Gulf in latitude 
19° 11' 56" north, 
and longitude 96° 
8' 36" west, and is 
190 miles south 
by southeast of the ^ 
City of M e X i c o ; x 
population 1889, x 
24,000. It is built ~ 
on a level and arid 0^ 
shore, consisting in ^ 

the main of sand, < 

w 

and is inclosed by > 

strong walls pro- ^ 

vided with heavy '^ 

redoubts. Its har- ^ 

n 

bor is little more ° 
than a roadstead, 
formed by several 
shoals which in- 
close, in a semicir- 
cular form, a tract 
of sea which in 
many parts offers 
excellent anchor- 
age. The most se- 
cure portion of the 
harbor is the strait 
which seoarates the 




630 



Till': i<i:ruHij( oi' miixko 




isl.iiid ()| S.in Jtiaii (Ic Ullo.i, f)ii w liiili 
(lie iclchiati (I loihcssol the same name 
i"- liiiill, liiiin till- (\{y, and tliis is less 
than /()() )ar(Is w idt' and alxmt i.ckk) 

)MI(ls ioi).;. 

I lie sticlis aic straij.;lit, uidc and 

well paved, and the hnildinj^s ai'i- eon- 

stiiic ted I hiell)' of a porous white coral, 

whieh composes tiie chlTs on liie coast. 

I hi- lools are llat, coxcred w itii tiiuent, 

and shi'd lain \\ atei" into al;,dhes or I. inks, 

wliciici' it is taken (oi- (hinkini; and 

g |.;i-niiai (h)mestic pnrposi-s. In 1887 

1.. thi'ri' wi're sixteen chnrihes, a custom 

honsi', sevi'ial hos])itais, a nuiniiipal 

■ pakice, a hl)rary, ,1 theatre, nuxlern 

"^ water woiks ihouidi the suppl\' of 

^, w.der is consideied less heallln than 

o 

> t he I ( >llec t ed rain \\ all! and si reet rail- 

H 

- ro.ids. The i'it\- is liidiled 1)\- t'as, and 

^ has iniproNi-d lailioad connection with 

^ the ( il\- ot Mexit'o 1)\- one line, and with 

l.dapa, the joinier capital ot tlu' state 

^ oi \'c-ra ( III/., 1))' allot her. 

•'j The jjioj^ress ot W-ra (ru/ h.is hiH-n 

most siM iotisl}' retardiwl 1))' the pic-\a- 

h'lice diiiini; tlu- siimnu-r months ot the 

X'omito prieto, a kind ot \ fllow fe\c-r, 

which pro\es \-er}' tatal to foic-i^ners, 

and dri\t-s e\(-n tlu- .icclimat i/ed husi- 

ncss nun into tlu- interior diiiiu}; its 

continuance. The strong winds, which 

from ( )ctol)er to April till tlu- air with 

sand and lash tlu- roadstiad wati-rs into 

mid-oci-an fiir\'. are also a i;reat hin- 

(Iranci- to the tle\ eloi)nu-nl <*( tlu- cit)' 

<»n account of the tlan^er to shipping 



iii'.K cAi'i I Ai., si'.Ai'oK r, i/rc. 



63 r 



which Ihcy | )i()(hii<-. The)' \i( Id some ((tinpciis.il ion, however, in (Iriviii!', the 
(headed fever a\v,i>'. W'ilh 1 hese (h.iuh.icks ,1 v;isl .inioiiiil ol l.ii.ine /, ir, 
IransiKled ihei'e. I'pwaid oC .|,()()() vi'ssels from ,ill |),iits o| the worhl, <iiie|- 
and (leal- the h.iilxii .innii.ill)'. 'i'he import', and exports avera^;c ahout $_'=;<- 
()()(),()()() each in value pel .inniini, ol W hi( h $J,()0(),()()() are with the Ihiited 
Slates. 

I he island on which the (.istle of San jiian de IMIoa is hnilt was visited 
l"illie Inst lime !))■ I'.iirope.in', under I he ( 1 imm.i in 1 of ) 11:111 de ( i ri jal \a in 
I 5 I S, and in t he lollow in^^ ^car ( 'orte/, landed at the pLu c w here the (it)' now 
stands; hiit the town founded \)y him, and called Villa Rica de V'cr.i ('in/,, 
was some miles I ml her iioilli. Three )'ear later th.il pl;ic c was ahaiidoiied, 
and another town was hiiilt .it ,\iili^Mia, which in turn proved inconveiiii iit . 
'The preseiif cily was then esl.ihlishecl in I5(j(), hiit was not incoii)oral ed till 
1015. The castle and (it \' were held by 1 he Sp.ini.irds t ill I.S;!^; 1 he |"'i( nch 
took them in iiS^.S; and the /Xmericans, under (ieiieial Scot!, in March, l''^.]'/. 



()riih.K Pi.A(;i:s oi- iNii.Kh.si, Pici ijkI'.souI': and 

I 1 ISK )UIC. 




( )NI I'd«: i'A', the capital of the' State- of Niievo I .eon, is ,| t^c ) miles 
north northwest o( IVle.xico (it)', \,(>.l() feet ahove sea level, hiiilt 
])riiic ipally ol v,tone, and is the oldest and most imixnlant city in 
northern Me,\ic:o. It is inc losed within the runt hern cordillera of the Sierra 
Macire Mountains, and has a ( liinate ;,;eiierally mild, hut vciy c haniMahle. It 
has a hciiitilul piiMic scpi.U'', 01 n.imeiit ed hy a inaihle lonnt.iin l.i shioiied \)y 
native workmen and art isl i( all)' execiiled, numljers .1111011;,; its notewort h)' 
piihlic structures a veiiei.iMe cathedral, two churches one of whi( li h.is the 
reputation ol Ixiin; the h.indsoniest in ;ill Mexico a !,M)veriiiiieiit p.il.icc-, 
iiiunic ip;il p. dace-, ,'i nohle hospit.d, ;ind .'i prison, milit.ii)' h.iir.ic ks, .iiid .ihat- 
toir, and conl.iins .1 seinin.iry, two collej.;es, .ind .ihoiit lift)' piiMic and pri\.ite 
schools, all of ;l hi<^di st.ind.ird and liherall)' siisl;iiiied. The m.iniif.K t iircs, 
which constitute the chief pride .ind wealth ol the city, emhr.icc nails, bricks, 
carria}.';es, morocco, candles, so.ip, su^ar, heer, hr.'indy, cot ton, p.iper, flour, 
and liimher. A lar|^u,- pro|)ortion of its trade, c.-.\j)ort and import, is with the 
Unitc:cl St.ites. 



632 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO 



Monterey was founded in 1596, on the site of a former city known as 
Ciudad de Leon, and was erected into a Roman Catholic bishopric in 1777- 
It was the scene of some of the earliest and most decisive actions in the war 
between the United States and Mexico, being a strong strategic point, corre- 
spondingly fortified, and defended by io,ocxd regular troops under General 
Ampudia. The American General Taylor attacked it with 6,600 men on Sept. 
19, 1846; first bombarding it, then sending a brigade under General Quitman 
against the lower part of the town for the purpose of carrying it by assault, 
General W. O. Butler forcing an entrance at another point, and General Worth 
driving the Mexicans from the heights south of the river and the Saltillo road. 

On the following morning the 
height overlooking the bishop's 
palace was stormed, and its guns 
were turned upon the retreating 
Mexicans. From the beginning 
the contest was a most deter- 
mined one on both sides. Even 
after the Americans had entered 
the city their progress was con- 
tested step by step, the Mexicans 
finding a mute ally for resistance 
in the solidly-built houses that 
lined the principal streets. By 
|.4l the 23d the Americans had 
fought their way to the plaza, 
'' - ^ . or public square, and on the fol- 

■ -""",:;l';. ■ lowing day General Ampudia sur- 

roKi.M, <iF TiiK CA 1 iiKDKAi,, MONTEKKY, MEXICO. rcndercd, Tlie Amcricau losses 
in the various movements amounted to 120 killed and 368 wounded but the 
Mexican loss was not reported. Since the close of that war, the progress of 
the city has been rapid for Mexico and substantial. Population, 1869, 13,534; 
1885, 37,000. 

The State of Mexico contains three very picturesque and exceedingly fer- 
tile valleys, formed by the two great mountain chains which traverse it and 
their branches, the valleys of Mexico, Tlaxcala, and Toluca. The chief river 
is the Lerma, which connects the lake of its own name with Lake Chapala. 
Lake Lerma is in the valley of Toluca. The valley of Mexico contains Lakes 




HER CAPITAL, SEAPORT, ETC. 



633 



Tezcuco, area 99 square miles; Chalco, 54; Xochimilco and Xaltocan, each 
27; Zumpango, 9; and San Cristobal, 6. Some of these overflow their banks 
during the rainy season, endangering the capital, which has often narrowly 
escaped destruction by the floods. Lakes Tezcuco, Xochimlico, and Chalco 
are connected with each other by a canal that was constructed by the ancient 



itoin 



i'r 
















A GLIMPSE OF MONTEREY, MEXICO. 



Aztecs. The former is navigable by small steamers, and receives the sewage 
of the capital city. Lake Chapala is also navigable by steam vessels. The 
distance between Mexico City and Vera Cruz is a little over 260 miles, and is 
traversed by a railroad that represents one of the most wonderful engineering 
enterprises in the world. It was begun in 1852, required twenty years of 
constant toil for its completion, cost $27,000,000, and was opened for traffic 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO. 635 

amid national rejoicings on Jan. 17, 1873. A stretch of sixty miles extends 
over the mountain region between the great table-land and the coast, at an 
elevation in some places of nearly 8,000 feet above sea level, and on a grade 
of 133 feet to the mile. It winds along the rugged sides of mountains, passes 
through tunnels cut in the hardest rock, and bowls over bridges above deep 
ravines, and displays on every side some of the grandest scenery on the 
continent. In September, 1888, the road was considerably injured at 
the barranca of Metlac, in the State of Vera Cruz, where it crosses on an 
iron bridge ninety-six feet high and over 500 feet long. Over 150 feet of 
the bridge were wrecked by the great mass of forest trees and the huge 
boulders of rock that were dislodged by the heavy rains and washed down 
the mountain sides. 

The State of Durango is bounded on the north by Chihuahua, on the east 
by Coahuila, on the southeast by Zacatecas, on the south by Jalisco, and 
on the west by Sinaloa. It is between latitude 22° 51' and 29° 28'- north,, 
and longitude 102° 50' and 106° 55' west; contains an area of 66,582 square 
miles; and had a population in 1880 of 190,846. It is divided into thirteen 
districts; the climate is cold in the Sierra Madre region, warm on the west- 
ern slope, and temperate in the rest of the state. There are large tracts 
of exceedingly fertile soil in the state, an abundance of water, an inexhausti- 
ble supply of excellent iron ore in Carmen Mountain near the capital, and 
numerous deposits of silver of great value. The greater part of the surface 
is covered by rugged mountains of considerable height. The capital city, 
of the same name, is built on an elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, in 
latitude 24° 2' north, and longitude 103° 34' west, and 150 miles west of 
Zacatecas. It is a well-built and prosperous city, the seat of a Roman 
Catholic bishop, and has an imposing cathedral, several convents, a col- 
lege, mint, theatre, and manufactories of tobacco and iron. Population, 
1880, 27,000. 

The State of Chihuahua is bounded on the north by New Mexico and 
Texas, on the east by Coahuila, on the south by Durango, and on the west 
by Sonara; is situated between latitude 26° 9' and 31° 47' north, and longitude 
103° 8' and 118° 41' west; has an area of 105,300 square miles; and had a 
population in 1880 of 180,758. It is divided politically into eighteen districts. 
The state is very mountainous, containing a portion of the Sierra Madre 
range, a branch locally known as the Tarahumara, and the mountains of 
Carcay, Jesus Maria y Tabacotes, Nido, Batopilas, Urique, Guazapares, 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO. 



^1^7 



Guadaloup y Calvo, Campana, El Chicalate, Mestenas, Almagres, and several 
others. The Conchas is the largest river in the state, and next to it are the 
Chihuahua, Satevo, Florido, Casas Grande, Santa Maria, and Carmen. There 
are three lakes of note, the Guzman, Santa Maria, and Patos. The plains on 
the eastern spur of the Tarahumara Mountain have an elevation of from 4,000 

to 5,000 feet above sea level. 
The capital city, also of the 
same name, is in latitude 28" 50' 
north, and longitude 105'' n' 
west, 310 miles north north- 
west of Durango, and is a place 







THE CATHEDRAL IN CHIHUAHUA, ^tKXICO. 



of large manufacturing and commercial importance. The state is noted 
the world over for its numerous silver mines of fabulous extent and wealth, 
and the capital is the chief point of supply for the whole mining region. 
It possesses a mint which coins on an average $2,000,000 in silver annu- 
ally; manufactories of wines and liquors, many large flour mills, and cot- 
ton factories; and its inhabitants are chiefly engaged in mining, cattle- 
raising, general agriculture, and the cultivation of the vine, which thrives 
wonderfully in El Paso and Hidalgo. Among the points of interest in the 



638 



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO. 



capital are the Roman Catholic cathedral, built of stone, and costing with its 
furniture, altars, and decorations, $800,000; state prison; state-house; and 




THE PLAZA IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO. 




A PUBLIC FOUNTAIN IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO. 

mint. The city is supplied with drinking water from mountain sources by 
means of a stone aqueduct three miles long, and carries on a large export and 
import trade with San Antonio, Tex. Population, 1880,, 12,116. 




CUBA, 

THE "GEM OF THE ANTILLES," AND ITS CAPITAL CITY. 

UBA, the most important colony of Spain, the largest of the West 
India islands, and poetically spoken of as the "Gem " or " Pearl " 
of the Antilles, lies between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean 
Sea, with its east and north extremities about the same distance — 130 miles 
—from the coasts of Yucatan and Florida. The island measures 760 miles 
in its greatest length and from 20 to 135 miles in width, has a coast line of 
2,220 miles, and a total area of 47,278 square miles. A large number of small 
islands and rocks skirt the entire coast, rendering the approach of an unskilled 
mariner exceedingly dangerous ; yet there are over 200 ports along the coast, 
the majority of which may be entered safely by vessels of considerable size, 
as the sea in many places remains deep to the very shore. 

The soil is exceedingly fertile, particularly in the western part, where the 
chief agricultural industries of the island are carried on, sugar, tobacco, and 
molasses. The mineralogy of the island is represented by gold, silver, iron, 
copper, quicksilver, lead, antimony, arsenic, copperas; none, however, in 
quantities that would justify the expense of systematic mining. There are 
many large areas of dense forest, containing a very valuable growth of lignum- 
vitae, ebony, rosewood, and mahogany. The cocoanut, African palm, sour 
orange, lemon, pine-apple, banana, and sweet potato are indigenous; there are 
300 kinds of butterflies, 200 species of native birds exclusive of domestic 
fowls, and 600 species of fish ; turtles, alligators, insects — including the taran- 
tula, the scorpion, and the sand-fly — -and an ant that preys upon vegetables, 
abound ; but there are very few wild animals or snakes on the island. A 
mountain range runs almost the entire length of the island near its centre, 
forming a watershed from which numerous small rivers flow either into the 
Gulf or the sea; the highest elevation is 8,000 feet above sea-level. To- 
bacco, one of the three great staples of Cuba, is grown on the southern coast 
of the extreme western end, a strip of irregular shape about eighty miles long 
and twenty wide, known as Vuelto Abajo. Cotton is cultivated to a consid- 
erable extent, and the mulberry tree, which there attains its highest perfection, 
is much esteemed in connection with the breeding of silk-worms. 



640 CUBA AND ITS CAPITAL CITY. 

The Roman Catholic is the established religion of the island, and although 
the government assumed a direct supervision of educational matters in 1842, 
and declared the Royal and Pontifical University in Havana a national insti- 
tution, it is essentially under the control of that church. This famous seat of 
learning was established by virtue of a bull issued in 1722 b}- Pope Innocent 
XIII. and approved by the Spanish government, 1729. There are two quite 
celebrated seminaries for the instruction of young men expecting to become 
clergymen, the college of San Carlos in Havana, and that of San Basilio in 
Santiago de Cuba. The expenses of education in the higher branches are 
paid from the public revenues, while the various cities and towns support 
schools for the primary- branches. In ecclesiastical government, Cuba is 
divided into two parts since 1788, the metropolitans of which are established 
at Havana and Santiago de Cuba. In political government there are three 
divisions, known as the Western, Central, and Southeastern Provinces, and 
the supreme authority and direct representative of the Sovereign of Spain 
is the Captain-general, usually an army ofificer of distinction in the mother- 
country. The subordinate officials in the fourteen cities, twelve towns, and 
324 villages and hamlets are also military men, who receive the appointments 
by way of political rewards. 

The population of Cuba is variously estimated. A census was taken in 
1862 which showed 1,359,438 inhabitants, of whom a large portion were slaves. 
A law was passed by the Spanish Cortes or congress on June 23, 1870, declar- 
ing all slaves free; but through the opposition of a powerful faction in 
Havana the government has never been able to make its declaration an ac- 
complished fact. In 1880 the population was estimated at 1,521,684, of whom 
764, 160 were put down as whites, Spaniards and Spanish Creoles, 344,400 as 
free people of color, 227,900 as slaves, and 58,400 as Chinese. The most popu- 
lous cities were Havana, 250,000; Santiago de Cuba, 60,000; Matanzas, 36,- 
000; and Puerto Principe, 30,000. Although its manufacturing industries are 
limited to a few commodities, their individual extent gives Cuba its chief 
importance. In 1880 there were exported from the port of Havana alone, 
12,464,936 pounds of tobacco, 153,141,000 cigars, 90,523 boxes, 219,323 sacks, 
and 190,083 barrels of sugar, 12,433 barrels of molasses, and 9,873 pipes of 
rum of 125 gallons each. The more recent volume of business with the 
United States, the chief consumer of Cuban products and manufactures, is 
shown by the following: Imports from Cuba into the United States; (1883) 
$65,544,534; (i884)$57,i8i,497; (1885) $42,306,093 ; (1886) $51,1 10,780; (1887) 



CUBA AND ITS CAPITAL CITY. 641 

$49,515,434. Exports from the United States into Cuba: (1883) $14,567,918; 
( 1884) $10,562,880; (i88-5) $8,719,195; (1886) $10,020,879; (1887) $10,138,930. 
A further view of the transactions with the United States is afforded by the 
clearance reports of the Havana custom-house for 1882, the latest at hand. 
During that year 1,424 vessels entered and cleared that port alone, represent- 
ing an aggregate tonnage of 1,258,181. Of this number 570 vessels of 496,736 
tons were American; 528 of 489,903 tons were Spanish; 219 of 186,403 tons 
were English; 27 of 43,980 were French; 5 of 3,906 tons were German; 54 of 
26,326 were Norwegian; and 21 of 10,927 belonged to other nations. 

The history of Cuba forms a long narrative of revolutions, insurrections 
and warfare in various degrees. The island was discovered by Columbus, 
Oct. 24, 1492; colonized by Spaniards under Diego Velasquez, 151 1 ; a French 
pirate burned Havana, 1538; the native Indians, harshly treated by the Span- 
ish governor, Hernando, became extinct, 1553; Drake, returning victorious 
from Carthagena, blockaded the chief ports, 1588; a Dutch squadron menaced 
them, 1638; filibusters overran the island from 1650 to 1700; Puerto Principe 
was plundered and destroyed by them, 1688; the tobacco monopoly was estab- 
lished by the Spanish crown, 1717 and remained in force till 1816; and Havana 
was captured by the British, 1762, and restored in the following year on Spain 
ceding to England the territory of Florida and all her possessions east and 
southeast of the Mississippi River. After the restitution of Havana the home 
government began granting concessions of commercial privileges ; and while 
the island entered upon an era of prosperity, it was through the agency of 
an element destined to become the source of long and bitter trouble. The 
necessity for a large force of field laborers gave a great impetus to the 
African slave-trade; and it has been estimated that between 1789 and 1845, 
over 550,000 slaves were placed on Cuban plantations. These, in time, broke 
out in stubborn insurrections, the uprisings in 1844 and 1848 being particu- 
larly notable by reason of the large numbers who were killed, the victims in 
the latter year alone amounting to 10,000. 

During 1849-51 the island was again disturbed by a series of outbreaks 
fomented and led by American adventurers. And again in 1868, when the 
mother-country was shaken in every province by a determined revolution, 
the island was seized by a convulsion which lasted twelve years. The most 
heroic attempts were made by the Cubans to achieve independence, and they 
were encouraged in their course by the people of the United States as openly 
as international law would permit. They established a congress, elected a 



642 CUBA AND ITS CAPITAL CITY. 

president, commissioned army and naval officers, and confined their opera- 
tions chiefly to the eastern part of the island. The Spanish authorities fought 
the revolutionists with extreme vigor, and came near involving the home 
government in war with the United States by acts of almost savage cruelty. 
It was estimated that during the struggle 80,000 soldiers were sent to the 
island from Spain, of whom not more than 12,000 survived; 13,600 Cubans 
were killed in battle; 43,500 were taken prisoner and put to death; and Spain 
spent $70,339,658 in the defence. 

The revolution gradually subsided between 1878 and 1880 upon promises 
of leniency and local reforms by Spain ; and since the latter year the island 
has enjoyed tranquillity. 



CITY OF HAVANA. 




AVANA, the capital of the island and the most important city in 
the West Indies, is situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, in 
latitude 23° 8' north, and longitude 82° 22' west; and had a popu- 
lation in 1887 of 230,000. It has a channel three-eighths of a mile long, open- 
ing into a large basin ; is defended by Morro and Punta castles and La Cabana, 
a strong citadel, besides other heavy fortifications, all below the inner harbor; 
and is divided into the old or walled town and the new one beyond. The 
most attractive part of the city is in the vicinity of the great public square, 
the Plaza de Armas, which has four beautiful gardens, spacious walks bordered 
by stately palms and other magnificent trees, and a statue of Ferdinand VII. 
in the centre. On the west side is the Governor's Palace, a two-story build- 
ing with a handsome colonnade in front, painted yellow, in which the govern- 
mental offices are located. Opposite the Palace is the beautiful chapel. El 
Templete, erected on the spot where the first mass was celebrated after the 
removal of the city to its present site. The cathedral, erected in 1724 and 
used as a college by the Jesuits till 1789, stands foremost among the public 
buildings. Its dimensions and architecture are imposing, but not remarkably 
so for an old Roman Catholic community. What made it particularly inter- 
esting to travellers and especially to Americans, was the fact that it contained 
the ashes of Christopher Columbus, which w^ere transferred thither from the 
cathedral at San Domingo, Jan. 15, 1796. After reposing there nearly one 
hundred years, they were removed July 2, 1887, placed reverently on board 



CUBA AND ITS CAPITAL CITY. 643 

an Italian man-of-war, conveyed to Genoa, and entombed with great public 
and ecclesiastical ceremonies. There are fifteen other churches, nine of which 
are attached to monastic orders; two, San Catalina and San Juan de Dias, 
date from the sixteenth century; one, San Augustin, from the beginning of the 
seventeenth; and all are noted for the richness and splendor of their decora- 
tions. 

The strangest contrasts are seen in Havana within comparatively a few 
feet. Within the walled part, the business part still and the residence of many 
wealthy Cubans, the tourist will look in vain for a tree, plant, or something 
green to refresh the eye ; a very small square in front of the little temple 
reared in memory of the landing of Columbus on the spot, being the only 
exception. Beyond the walls where the modern part of the city begins, the 
prospect immediately changes. Beside the Plaza de Armas and the build- 
ings already mentioned, there are the Calle del Prado, extending to the Costa 
del Norte, the Parque de Isabela Catolica, with its statue of her majesty, the 
Campo del Marte, and numerous other parks and boulevards, teeming with 
life and beauty. Here are located the architectural adornments of the capi- 
tal, the principal hotels, the Tacon and La Paz theatres, the Louvre, and the 
celebrated Casino club house, the pride of the city. 

The architecture of the residences and business houses is identical with 
that of the south of Spain, and is of a decidedly Moorish tone. The houses are 
built for the most part of stone, with very thick walls and tessellated floors, 
and seldom exceed two stories in height. The roofs are invariably flat and 
covered with variegated tiling, or, in the case of a very pretentious building, 
with masonry; and in evenings the families and their guests betake them- 
selves thither to enjoy the refreshing sea breezes. The doors are large, pon- 
derous, and strengthened with heavy iron bands and bolts ; the knockers are 
usually brass, in the shape of a hand. The windows have no glass, and are 
simply large openings for air and light, with iron bars running up and down 
their length about six inches apart. Heavy latticed shutters on the outside 
stand open in evenings to admit the breeze and are closed in the day time to 
exclude the sun. The houses are painted pink, blue, yellow, and other bright 
colors; the floors and stairs of costly residences are generally marble, the 
apartments open upon a covered veranda, and the outer door or doors — for 
many of them are double — open into d. patio, corresponding with the Mexican 
court-yard, in which there is usually a fountain and a profusion of plants and 
flowers. A staircase leads from the patio to the upper apartments. Since 



644 THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 

the close of the revolutio-n, many wealthy planters have erected very costly 
residences, and changed the native to the modern foreign style both in con- 
struction and embellishment. 

The first railroad in Cuba was opened in Havana in 1837; the first tele- 
graph line was built therefrom in 1852; the submarine cable to Florida was 
laid in 1867-8; and that to Jamaica in 1870. In 1889 Havana had steam- 
ship communications with Spain, France, England, and the United States 
weekly ; and railroad connections with Cardenas, Matanzas, Santiago, and 
other important places on the island. 



THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 




HIS possession of Great Britain embraces a group of 600 islands in 
the Atlantic Ocean, stretching in a north-westerly direction from 
H the north side of San Domingo to the east coast of Florida, be- 
tween latitude 20° 55' and 27° 40' north, and longitude 68° 40' and 79° 
20' west, and having an aggregate area of 3,021 square miles. Less than 
twenty of the islands are inhabited, and these had a population in 1887 
of 43,521. The principal islands are situated on the remarkable flats 
called the Bahama Banks, of which the Great Bank lying at the western 
extremity of the archipelago occupies an extent of 300 miles in length, 
northwest and southeast, and eighty miles in breadth. The deepest water 
on any part of this bank is thirty feet, but the patches of coral rock and 
dry sand are innumerable. These banks rise almost perpendicularly from 
an unfathomable depth of w^ater, and are formed of coral, with an accumula- 
tion of shells and calcareous sand. The islands are generally long and nar- 
row, low, and covered with a light sandy soil, their figure and surface 
throughout being nearly uniform in character. Those islands not situated on 
the bank have a reef of rocks extending a short distance from the shore, 
forming the boundary of soundings, immediately outside which the sea is 
often unfathomable. 

The principal islands are Abaco, eighty miles long and twenty broad ; 
Eleuthera, eighty miles long and ten broad; New Providence, eighty miles 
long and from eight to ten broad; Andros, 100 miles long and fifteen broad; 
Guanahani, or Cat Island, forty miles long and five broad; Watling, twenty 
miles long and four broad; Exuma, thirt\- miles long and four broad; Long 



THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 645 

Island, seventy-five miles long and five broad ; Crooked Islands, a group of 
four small ones, whose inhabitants are chiefly engaged in salt-raking; and 
Inagua, the most southern of the group, containing 675 square miles of sur- 
face, and remarkable for its great salt-pond of 1,600 acres, from a single acre 
of which 8,000 bushels of salt have been frequently raked in one season. 
Caicos and Turk's Islands were formerly included in the Bahama group for 
administrative purposes, but since 1848 they have been under the jurisdiction 
of the Governor of Jamaica. 

The climate is healthy and temperate ; from May to October the ther- 
mometer ranges from 82° to 88'^F., from November to April it averages 70° ; 
thunderstorms are violent and frequent, and earthquakes are sometimes felt. 
The rainfall in 1887 was 79.41 inches, of which 20.07 ^^^^ i^^ August and only 
0.51 in February, This was the largest rainfall registered in the Bahamas for 
twenty years, and was distributed throughout the year thus: first quarter, 
2.84 inches ; second, 28.18; third, 37.07; and fourth, 11.32. The products of 
the islands comprise fruit in abundance, oranges, pine-apples, limes, lemons, 
yams, sweet potatoes, maize, and cotton ; the leading articles of export are 
salt, sponge, pineapples, oranges, limes, lemons, cabinet woods, cascarilla 
bark, arrowroot, and pimento ; and the chief imports are provisions, lumber, 
shingles, and other materials for ship and house building from the United 
States, and sugar, coffee, and other tropical productions from Cuba, Porto 
Rico, and the British West Indies. In 1887 the exports amounted to $627,- 
320, and there was a marked falling off in cotton and pine-apples and an im- 
provement in the sponge trade. The imports aggregated $947,280, of which 
$148,345 came from Great Britain, and the remainder almost wholly from the 
United States, where nearly the whole of the fruit grown on the islands is 
sold. The public revenue in that year was $229,345, an increase of $9,745 
over the previous year; the expenditure was $219,775; and the debt, $415,- 
630. 

The government of the islands is vested in a colonial governor appointed 
by the British sovereign, an executive council, a legislative council, and an 
assembly of thirty members chosen by popular vote. All forms of religious 
worship are tolerated, but the Church of England is naturally the largest in 
membership. It carries on a considerable work on the islands, which consti- 
tute fifteen parishes, and has numerous churches, chapels, mission stations, 
and day and Sunday schools. A colonial board of education was established 
in 1848 on the system of the British and Foreign School Society, and in 1887 



646 THE BAHAMA ISLANDS. 

there were thirty-six schools with an average daily attendance of 4,550 
scholars. The lack of means to procure a higher grade of teachers was much 
deplored. New Providence is the most important island in the group, and 
Nassau, its chief and only town, is the seat of government of the colony. 

The submarine gardens of the Bahamas form one of the most interesting 
scenes imaginable, and more than fulfil any ideas the fancy may create about 
them. They are really fairy gardens, for, far down in the clear green water 
wave brilliant sea grass, sea fans, plumes, flowers, and vines; while many 
species of fish, varying in hue and size from the green and golden minnow, 
not two ounces in weight perhaps, to the ponderous jow fish, clad in a coat 
of silver mail and weighing over 500 pounds, dash through the shrubbery or 
placidly float in a coral grotto. Conches, in which pinkish pearls are con- 
cealed, may also be found there, and with them nearly ev^ery species of shell- 
fish indigenous to tropical seas. 

Harbor Island, in the northern end of the group, is very interesting, as it 
boasts the second largest city in the Bahamas, Dunmore Town, and the 
famous " Glass Windows," which are nothing more than a massive arch of 
limestone rocks, about eighty feet in height, which command some noble 
views of land and water. One of the most curious spots in the entire region 
is Spanish Wells, situated on an island of the same name. Its houses, which 
are huddled together in the utmost confusion, are erected on high posts to 
protect the inmates from the incursions of the wandering crabs, which live 
.among the rocks and move over the island at night in such vast numbers that 
they destroy every edible .thing they can find. Eleuthera Island, readily 
reached by small boats from New Providence, grows about two-thirds of the 
entire pine-apple crop of the Bahamas, and its inhabitants have been shipping 
almost wholly to the United States since 1820. Guanahani, or Cat Island, 
was the first land met with by Columbus on his first voyage of discovery, his 
landing taking place in October, 1492. He piously made the sign of the cross 
on a large rock, named the place San Salvador, and carried to Mexico the 
few natives he encountered. 

The islands remained uninhabited till 1629, when New Providence was set- 
tled by the English, who held it till 1641. A body of Spaniards seized the 
island in that year, destroyed the colony, and expelled the settlers, but made 
no permanent occupation. The English again colonized it in 1666. and the 
settlers enjoyed a peaceable existence till 1703, when a combined force of 
French and Spaniards destroyed Nassau and put its inhabitants to flight. 



THE BAHAMA ISLANDS.— NASSAU. 647 

After this the island became a rendezvous for pirates, whose depredations on 
the adjacent seas became so notorious that the British government determined 
to suppress them and re-estabHsh the colony. This it did by means of a naval 
squadron in 1718. Nassau was fortified, and settlements were made on other 
large islands. In 1776 New Providence was seized by the Americans, but they 
abandoned it shortly afterward ; in 1781 all the islands were seized by the 
Spaniards; and 1783 they were again restored to Great Britain by treaty, and 
she has since remained in undisturbed possession of them. 



i> 



CITY OF NASSAU. 

ASSAU, the port of entry and capital of the Colony of the Bahamas, 
is built on the northern coast of the island of New Providence, 
and extends along the water front for a distance of three miles 
and back to the crest of the slope, on which stands the government house, 
the Royal Victoria hotel, erected by the British government in i860 for the 
accommodation of foreign invalids, and many of the finest private residences. 
The ground here has an elevation of ninety feet above the sea level of the 
liarbor, thus insuring admirable drainage. The streets are regularly laid out, 
cross each other at right angles, and are macadamized ; and the houses are, 
for the most part, built of stone, in the midst of grounds beautifully arranged 
in flower and shrub. The city contains a museum and library established in 
1847, numerous churches and charitable institutions, and elegant drives leading 
to the suburbs, rich in inland and seaward scenery. It was founded in 1629, 
declared a free port in 1787, suffered severely from a tornado on March 30, 
1850, was made an Anglican bishop's see in 1861, and its harbor was used as 
a rendezvous for blockade-runners during the American civil war. 

Though a considerable foreign trade is carried on in the city, it enjoys its 
Tiighest distinction as an unusually popular winter resort for invalids and 
pleasure seel<ers. Its proximity to the American coast and ease of access by 
steamship from a number of Atlantic ports, combined with the equability 
and wonderful salubrity of its climate, attract a large number of American fam- 
ilies annually who wish to escape the rigors of a northern season. The heat 
is tempered by an ocean breeze of a softness and purity not excelled else- 
where; fish abound in the neighboring waters; and northern fowl seek the 



648 THE BAHAMA ISLANDS.— NASSAU. 

region of the lakes close by, at the beginning of the American winter and the 
Nassau fashionable seasons. 

Nassau has been very aptly called a lazy man's paradise; and while air, 
surroundings, and associations are conducive to quiescence, there is an abun- 
dance of material for the most active sight-seeing. Beside the ordinary trop- 
ical trees found in the West Indies, the tourist will be pleased to meet the 
banyan tree, the royal African palm, the silk-cotton tree, the life plant — that 
mysterious growth of which a leaf, if broken off and pinned to the wall, will 
not only thrive without water but will send forth shoots that in turn produce 
others and so rapidly, that the product of a single leaf will soon cover the 
side of a large room — and many other marvels of plant, flower, and shrub. 
One of the most charming spots on the island is Lake Killarney, whose 
greenish transparent water gleams amid orange and cocoanut groves, and 
whose emerald hue contrasts strongly with the scarlet of the pine-apple plan- 
tations that surround it. The Caves, which are composed of a series of 
caverns, are much frequented by American tourists. Two of these are of fair 
size, but the largest is a mile in the interior. The vestibule is divided into 
two parts which run at right angles to each other, and one of them bears a 
resemblance to a cathedral, with its altar, chancel, and columns, while the 
roots of a banyan tree, which have pierced its roof, are not unlike supports for 
chandeliers. The inner chamber which is entered through a narrow hole 
about half a mile long, is wrapped in such gloom that the torches used by 
visitors only make its blackness seem deeper. Those who have a taste for 
archaeology would enjoy a visit to Forts Fincastle, which, viewed from the 
front, resembles a side-wheel steamship built of stone, and Charlotte at the 
western end of the town, with their gloomy vaults and dungeons, massive 
walls and inky passages of stone, which seem to breathe of past cruelty and 
slaughter. Fort Fincastle is now used as a station for signalling the ap- 
proach of vessels. Fort Charlotte was built by the Earl of Dunmore more 
than 100 years ago, has gloomy passages of massive rock, numerous dun- 
geons, and a curious deep well with circular stairs leading to the bottom, 
from which an almost hair-raising passage enables one to reach a chamber 
known as " The Governor's Room." 

There is so much to see, learn, enjoy, and be benefited by in this de- 
lightful winter resort, that one season will hardly suf^ce to yield the amount 
of satisfaction that is possible. 



THE 

COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

Their Capitals and Seaports, 




BRAZIL. 

RAZIL, until the peaceful revolution of 1889, was a constitutional 
monarchy. The treatment of its history must necessarily be con- 
fined to the period prior to that event, as the time to write accu- 
rately and impartially of the recent change in government has not yet arrived. 

The country occupies one-half the entire territory of South America, and 
has an area nearly equal to that of the whole of Europe. It extends from 
latitude 4° 30' north to 33° 45' south, and from longitude 34° 40' to 72° 30' 
west, and has an extreme length of 2,600 English miles, a breadth of 2,500 
miles, and a sea-board of 4,000 miles. The area is variously estimated at 
from 3,218,166 to 3,288,963 square miles, and the population was computed in 
1885 at 12,922,375, of whom 1,149,723 were slaves. Beyond this enumeration 
there was a nomadic aboriginal population estimated at 1,000,000. 

The country has an unusually large and constant water supply from its 
remarkable river system, which — if it did not include that grand monarch of 
rivers — the Amazon — would still be a natural phenomenon. The Amazon is 
reputed the largest river in the world, and though it is claimed that both the 
Mississippi and Nile rivers are longer, they are unquestionably inferior in 
volume. It rises in the mountains of western Peru near the Pacific Ocean, 
and, after flowing a distance of nearly 3,000 miles, empties into the Atlantic 
through a main mouth fifty miles wide. If it be admitted, as is strongly 
asserted, that the Para River also is an outlet, the delta of the Amazon will 
measure 180 miles in width. The Amazon itself drains 800,000 square miles 
of territory within the country, and with its numerous tributaries about one- 
third the whole of South America. 

The surface of the country is divided into the higher region of plateaus, 
ridges, broad, open valleys, and the vast lowland plain of the Amazon. The 



650 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA; 

mountains are rich in minerals and precious stones; mines of diamonds are 
both numerous and exceedingly productive; and, according to Prof. Agassiz, 
no country in the world approaches Brazil in the variety and wealth of its 
forest productions. From a single piece of land not half a mile square he 
cut 117 different kinds of valuable woods, and noted particularly a single 
variety of the palm from which the natives obtained food, drink, clothing, 
bedding, cordage, fishing tackle, medicine, and the material they manufac- 
tured into dwellings, weapons, harpoons, and musical instruments. The most 
important trees are the Brazil wood, rosewood, laurel, soap, and the entire 
family of palms. The cocoa tree, which grows in great quantities, supplies 
chocolate, one of the most important items of internal commerce, and the 
gum of the caoutchouc tree, which is tapped daily in the dry season, when 
held in the smoke made by burning the nuts of the tucuma becomes the india 
rubber of commerce. The fruit of the Brazil-nut tree ranks third in import- 
ance among the exports of the Amazon valley, the first two being rubber and 
cocoa. 

The soil in general is very rich ; the valley of the Amazon is so fertile that 
nearly all its vegetation is spontaneous, and agriculture is carried on rudely 
and without tilling. The eastern and coast provinces are the chief agricul- 
tural regions, where coffee, sugar, cotton, cassava flour, tobacco, rice, maize, 
fruits, and spices are grown in enormous quantities. The flora and fauna are 
the most luxuriant and beautiful in the world ; the birds are unapproachable 
in brilliancy of plumage; animal life is displayed in its wildest forms; and the 
domestic animals of importance are limited to the horse, cattle, and sheep. 
Cattle are bred in the central and southern provinces, but sheep do not thrive 
as well. As may be imagined from the great extent of the country, the 
climate shows considerable variations. In the Amazon basin the temperature 
averages between 75° and 90° F. ; in the latitude of Rio de Janeiro the sum- 
mer or January temperature averages about 75° near the sea level, and that 
of July about 65°. Snow and ice form on the high table-lands and mountain 
ranges. At the mouth of the Amazon the climate in general is similar to 
that of New York city in August. 

Under the empire the state treatment of religious affairs was liberal. The 
established form was Roman Catholic, but there was no persecution in any 
way for religious acts or motives. The empire maintained* the Roman Cath- 
olic clergy and also aided materially in the building of churches and support 
of clergy and institutions of other denominations. The educational system 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 651 

was thorough and likewise liberal, but unfortunately has not been fully- 
appreciated. Public education is primary, secondary, or preparatory, and 
scientific or superior. In all cases it is gratuitous. 

In 1886 there were 4,379 miles of railroad in operation and 1,410 under 
construction, and 6,440 miles of telegraph, beside a submarine cable to 
Europe. The same year the total imports amounted to $103,691,240, and 
the exports, which were chiefly coffee, sugar, and hides, $1 15,143,260. In 
1887 the public revenue was $100,364,124, one half of which was from cus- 
toms duties, and the expenditures -Si 15,133,240; and the public debt of all 
kinds aggregated $565,035,000. The recent trade with the United States 
was as follows : imports: 1885, $7,258,035 ; 1886, $6,480,738; 1887, $8,071,653; 
exports: 1885, $45,263,660; 1886, $41,907,532 ; 1887, $52,953,176. In the lat- 
ter year there were sixty-two cotton spinning and weaving factories, with 
5,084 horse-power and 5,712 looms, and fifty-two central sugar houses, for 
thirty-three of which the government guaranteed the interest on the capital 
invested, $10,000,000. 

Under the empire the government of the country was a constitutional 
monarchy. Four powers were established by the constitution : the legisla- 
tive, vested in a national assembly comprising a senate of fifty-eight life 
members and a congress of 122 representatives elected for four years; the 
executive, vested in the emperor, assisted by a cabinet of ministers and a 
council of state; the judicial; and the moderating, or royal prerogative. 
For administrative purposes the country was divided into twenty provinces, 
comprising 642 municipalities. Each provincial government consisted of a 
provincial chamber and a general council or legislative assembly; the mem- 
bers of the former were elected directly by the voters for terms of two years, 
and of the latter by the same electors as the members of the house of repre- 
sentatives. The chief cities are Rio de Janeiro, the capital, population in 
1887,274,972; Bahia, 128,929; Pernambuco, 1 16,671 ; Para, 35,000; Maran- 
ham, 31.604; Sao Paulo, 25,000; and Parahiba, 15,000. The language of the 
country is Portuguese. 

Brazil was discovered in 1500 by V. Y. Pinzon, an associate of Columbus. 
Pedro A. Cabral subsequently took possession of it, and amid the persistent 
opposition of several countries the Portuguese made a number of settlements. 
In 1807, Napoleon declared war against Portugal, and in the following year, 
King John VI. fled with the royal family to Brazil, then a Portuguese colony. 
In 181 5 the colony was declared a kingdom; in 1820 the royal family re- 



652 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

turned to Portugal, the king leaving his son, Dom Pedro I. as regent; in 1821 
a national congress chose him Perpetual Protector; and in 1822 he declareti 
Brazil free and independent, assumed the title of Constitutional Emperor and 
Protector, and was recognized by Portugal in 1825. Dom Pedro I, abdicated 
in favor of his son, Dom Pedro II., in 1831, and the country remained under 
a regency till 1841, when the new emperor was crowned. In 1865-70 the 
country was at war with Paraguay; 1866 all the important rivers were opened 
to foreign commerce; 1871 and 1885 provisions were made for the gradual 
liberation of the slaves, and in 1888 the emancipation measures were con- 
summated. In November, 1889, the empire was overthrown by a peaceful 
revolution. The royal family was pensioned and retired to Portugal, and 
measures were taken for the organization of a republican government. 



CITY OF RIO DE JANEIRO. 




10 DE JANEIRO, the city of the " River of January," the capital 
of Brazil and much the largest city in South America, is situated 
on the western shore of a bay of the same name, in latitude 22° 54' 
south, and longitude 43° 10' west. The bay is twenty-four miles in length 
from north to south, from four to fifteen miles wide, and being inclosed by 
hills over 1,000 feet high, forms the finest, safest, and most capacious harbor 
in the world. Its entrance, which is protected on both sides by heavy for- 
tifications, is 1,700 yards wide with an average depth of fourteen fathoms of 
water. Near the entrance, and w^here the bay is only from four to eight 
miles wide, the city stretches a distance of six miles. A fine pier of stone 
projects a short distance into the bay, and is ascended by a flight of steps. 
It leads directly to the Pra^a de San Jos6, two sides of which square are oc- 
cupied by the imperial palace. The streets are paved ; the houses, generally 
built of stone and two-stories high, are white-washed or rough cast, with red- 
tiled roofs, and projecting eaves; the lower story is usually a coach-house or 
stable, the windows of the second reach the floor and open upon iron verandas, 
guarded by trellis-work shutters. 

In 1887 there were sixty churches, of which the cathedral and the 
churches of San Francisco de Paula and De Candelaria were the most distin- 
guished buildings in the city. The church of San Francisco is very large, has 
extensive catacombs beneath it, and, like all the older structures of the kind, 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 653 

has a plain exterior, but is richly decorated within. The chapels of the 
emperor and empress near the palace are splendid churches. The public 
buildings of note include the government building, the post-of^ce, the marine 
hospital, the opera-house, the military barracks, the offices of the ministers of 
war and of commerce, the senate building and the National Museum, which 
contains fine collections of minerals and precious stones, American orni- 
thology, and native Indian curiosities, beside many foreign curiosities, speci- 
mens of natural history, and a number of sarcophagi. The six last buildings 
are on the Campo de Santa Anna, the largest public square in the city. 
Among other buildings the mint. Academy of Fine Arts, observatory, im- 
perial library, and the palace of San Christovao are prominent. The charita- 
ble institutions include a number of hospitals for natives, Portuguese, English, 
French, and Spaniards. The city has a grand array of educational institu- 
tions, comprising a national college, military and engineering school, naval 
academy, school of medicine and surgery, a commercial school, a geographical 
and historical institute, a polytechnic and agricultural college, several night 
schools for adults, and numerous public, parochial, and private schools. The 
imperial library is noteworthy, beyond its treasures, because it was at one 
time the royal library of Portugal, and was removed from Lisbon to Rio de 
Janeiro on the flight of King John in 1808. 

The city is supplied with good water by means of what is probably the 
greatest curiosity in that entire section. The source of the supply is the 
Corcovado Mountain, 2,307 feet above sea level, and on the summit of which is 
the observatory and a watch tower. Rushing down the mountain, the water 
is collected into the Casa de Agua, or reservoir, about four miles from the 
city. From this it is conveyed by an aqueduct of huge blocks of granite, 
twelve miles long, begun in the middle of the seventeenth and finished in the 
middle of the eighteenth ce-ntury, and crossing a valley over 200 yards wide 
supported on two rows of arches one above another, and reaching a height of 
ninety feet, to the city where it is distributed into numerous fountains for 
general use. 

The harbor is entered annually by about 4,500 vessels of 2,500,000 tons 
burden from foreign ports, and about 6,500 vessels of over i,, 000,000 tons 
from domestic ones. During the ten years preceding 1889, the average value 
of imports was $37,000,000, and of exports $54,000,000. The chief item of ex- 
port is coffee, and about one-half of the entire product is shipped to the 
United States. The population of Rio de Janeiro in 1885 was 274,972. The 



654 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

first settlements on the bay were made by Portuguese in 1531. They soon 
withdrew, and a colony of French Huguenots followed them in 1555. The 
Portuguese, however, returned, drove the French away, and made a perma- 
nent settlement in 1567. The city became the capital of the Portuguese 
viceroyalty in 1763, and of the Brazilian empire in 1822. 

Pernambuco, with a population of 116,671, has a decidedly metropolitan 
air, with long lines of street cars, substantial iron bridges over the rivers that 
divide the city into three sections, streets closely built with stucco-front 
houses three and four stories high, and an extensive market built of stone 
and iron. The city is built on perfectly level ground, presents a long front 
to the water, exhibits much neatness and commercial thrift, and imports large 
quantities of sugar, molasses, and rum. 

Para, with a population of 35,000, is, after Quito, the only considerable 
city in the world on the equatorial line. The river in front of the city is 
twenty miles wide, but the expanse is broken by numerous islands. Ships of 
any size will float within 150 yards of the shore. The city is regularly laid 
out, has a number of handsome public squares, wide and attractive avenues, 
six large churches including the cathedral, a post office, a custom house of 
considerable magnitude, and a most ornate presidential mansion, with a 
staircase of marvellously sculptured marble. The commerce of the city is 
carried on almost exclusively by Portuguese and other foreigners; and the 
chief exports are rubber, cacao, coffee, sugar, cotton, sarsaparilla, vanilla, 
copaiba, tobacco, rum, hides, parrots, and mokeys. 




THE REPUBLIC OF CHILI. 

HILI occupies the long narrow strip of territory between the 
Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains, and the nineteenth and 
fifty-sixth degree of south latitude. Including Antofagasta, which 
was ceded to it by Bolivia in 1885, Tarapaca, which Peru surrendered in 
1883, and Tacua, which by the treaty of peace is to remain in the posses- 
sion of Chili till 1893, when the question whether it shall revert to Peru 
or remain a part of Chili is to be settled by a popular vote, the republic 
contained in 1885 an area of 293,310 square miles, and had a population of 
2,520,442. Its surface is mountainous, with a mean elevation of 14,000 feet 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 655 

above sea-level ; the average height of the Andes there is 1 1,830 feet, and their 
highest peak, Aconcagua, is 22,420 feet above the sea. The upper half of the 
country is generally barren and sterile, the richest and most fertile portions 
being the central and southern parts. Above 82 per cent, of the whole sur- 
face is desert, mountain pasture, and forest, and the remaining 18 per cent, 
arable land. Agriculture is pursued with much industry, and owing to local ne- 
cessities, with the most improved implements and on advanced scientific plans. 
The country is destitute of rivers or lakes of any magnitude, but numerous 
small streams fed by the melted mountain snow are skilfully utilized for irri- 
gation purposes. The staple products are the usual kind of European cereals, 
potatoes which are indigenous, hemp, fruits of all kinds, the vine, and the 
olive. In mineral resources the country is richest in copper, though it has 
considerable mines of gold and silver, and all are worked with modern appli- 
ances. The climate embraces the extremes of intense heat and intense cold, 
is on the whole healthful and as enjoyable as any on the globe, and averages 
in temperature at Santiago 53° F. The rainy season is June, July, and August ; 
spring begins in September, and winter in June. 

Politically the republic is divided into eighteen provinces and four terri- 
tories. The capital is Santiago, usually spoken of as Santiago de Chili to 
distinguish it from other cities and towns of the same name ; Talcahuana has 
the best harbor, and Coquimbo the second, but that of Valparaiso is the most 
important, as that city is the seaport of the capital. The president is elected 
for a term of five years; the legislative authority is vested in a senate of 
thirty-seven members elected for six years and a chamber of deputies of 109 
members elected for three; and the executives of the provinces are appointed 
by the president. All citizens able to read and write, and who pay a small 
annual tax, are allowed to vote in all elections. The constitution guarantees 
personal and religious freedom, but makes the Roman Catholic the religion 
of the state. Through all the changes of administration the government has 
liberally fostered the cause of education, and the remarkable statement can 
be made with absolute truth that in the total population one person out of 
every seven can read, one out of every eight can read and write, and one out 
of every twenty-four attends school regularly. Nearly two-thirds the educa- 
tional institutions are supported by the government. In 1885 there were 
1,421 miles of railroads, and 7,625 of telegraph lines in operation; in 1886 the 
revenue, one-half of which was derived from customs and monopolies, 
amounted to $35,064,350, and the expenditures were $50,073,183; and on 



656 TPIE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

Jan. 1,1887, the total debt was $120,428,825. The exports of 1S86 included 
products of the mines worth $40,264,340, of agriculture $9,710,747, of manu- 
factures $172,900, and of specie and bullion $644,416. Recent trade with the 
United States is shown as follows: exports; (1883) $435,584, (1884) $537»936, 
(1885) $604,525, (1886), $1,182,845, (1887) $2,863,233 ; imports : (1883) $2,837,- 
551, (1884), $3,236,945, (1885) $2,192,672,(1886) $1,973,548, (1887) $2,062,507. 

When Francisco Pizarro had overthrown the empire of the Inca of Peru, 
he sent Almagro to subjugate Chili. The latter invaded the country 1535, and 
with great loss of men passed over the Andes and through the desert of Ata- 
cama, and entered the northern provinces, previously dependencies of Peru, 
without material resistance. But when he started southward he encountered 
many war-like tribes, by whom he was held in check till his death. He was 
succeeded by Valdivia, who advanced to the Biobio, completed the conquest, 
and founded the town of Santiago in 1541. For more than 200 years the 
Spaniards endeavored to establish and maintain their authority in the southern 
provinces, but without permanent results; and in 1771 they were compelled 
to abandon all that country except Valdivia, Osorno, and a few fortresses on 
the Biobio. In 18 10 the Chilians revolted against the Spanish dominion, and 
■on Sept. 18 declared themselves independent. This action led to a war that 
ended in 18 14 with the defeat of the Chilians by the Spaniards at Rancagua. 
Three years later the country was entered from La Plata by San Martin, who 
by the battles of Chacabuco, Feb. 12, 1817, and Maypu, April 5, 1818, effected 
the liberation of the country, though the Spaniards held possession of the 
island of Chiloe till January, 1826. The constitution was adopted 1824, subse- 
quently remodelled, and proclaimed 1830. Spain recognized the republic in 
April, 1844. In 1865 Chili, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador were engaged in a war 
with Spain, during which Spanish vessels bombarded Valparaiso and destroyed 
$15,000,000 worth of property. The European powers compelled Spain to raise 
the blockade of the port, and through the mediation of the United States a 
treaty of peace between Chili and Spain was signed in 1869. After the war of 
1879-81 with Peru and Bolivia, Chili extended its northern frontier from 
latitude 24° to 19° south, and ceded all of Patagonia east of the crest of the 
Andes to the Argentine Republic. 



CITY OF SANTIAGO. 

ANTIAGO, the capital of the repubhc, is in the plain of the same 
name, on the Mapocho, a branch of the Maypu River, at an eleva- 
tion of 1,690 feet above the sea-level, and in latitude 33°'25' south, 
and longitude 70° 38' west. The city is laid out in rectangular and equal 
squares, called quadras; the principal streets are about forty-five feet wide; 
and the houses are generally but one story high, large and containing many 
rooms, arranged round three quadrangular squares, called patios. The Plaza 
Mayor, or great public square, occupies the space of a whole quadra in the 
centre of the city, and has- a handsome bronze fountain, with a large hewn- 
stone basin, in the centre, and beautiful parterres of grass and flowers. The 
president's palace, the penitentiary, and the chamber of justice stand on the 
north-west side, and the massive stone cathedral and the archbishop's palace, 
a striking building in the Moorish style of architecture, on the south-west. 
Other public buildings of note are the mint, national museum, treasury, legis- 
lative hall, the handsomest theatre in South America, and many churches and 
convents — especially those of San Domingo, San Francisco, and San Augustin ; 
the University, the military academy, the academy of sciences, two national 
colleges, a number of primary schools, and the large public library. There 
are also two large and well-endowed hospitals, that of San Juan de Dios for 
males, and that of San Francisco de Borjas for females. A beautiful paseo, 
combining the features of a public park, promenade, and drive, extends along 
the banks of the river a distance of two miles, and contains statues of many 
of Chili's most celebrated men, besides one of Abraham Lincoln. The city 
is defended by two fortresses on the crown of the hill of Santa Lucia, which 
are much visited by tourists on account of the excellent view of the Andes 
they afford. Near the hill on the north is the tajamar, or breakwater, raised 
to protect the city from the overflow of the Mapocho during the melting 
of the mountain snows. The road from Santiago to Valparaiso, a distance of 
ninety miles, is the best artificial road in South America, and practicable for 
carriages though it crosses three ranges of steep hills. A terrible disaster 
occurred in Santiago on Dec. 8, 1863. A church belonging to the Jesuits had 
been dedicated in 1857 to the Immaculate Conception, and a confraternity 
had been founded with which nearly all the best families in the city were 
afifiliated. In each year from Nov^ember 8 to December 8, a celebration was 



658 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

held every evening, terminating on the day of the Conception. On the last: 
evening some of the muslin drapery of the image of the Virgin caught fire,. 
and in fifteen minutes 2,500 corpses were all that remained of the congrega- 
tion. A grand Martyrs' Monument has since been erected to the memory of 
those who perished. In 1875 an international exhibition was held in the city. 
The population of Santiago was estimated in 1880 at 193,517. 



CITY OF VALPARAISO. 




ALPARAISO, the principal port of the republic, is situated in lati- 
tude 33° i' south, and longitude 71° 45' west, on a bay opening di- 
rectly into the Pacific Ocean, having three well-sheltered sides and, 
the fourth exposed to the winds from the north. It consisted previous to 1854 
of a long, narrow street, built under a cliff and following the contour of the 
shore close to the sea-side. Painted piazzas are substituted for balconies, 
almost at every house, and their different colors give the city a bright and 
gay appearance. Above the heights a handsome suburb has been laid out 
chiefly by American, English, and French merchants. The harbor is defended 
by three forts and a powerful water battery, is easy of entrance, and has nine 
fathoms of water close in shore. It is by far the best along the American 
coast of the South Pacific, and is annually entered by over 1,500 vessels. 
The custom-house, government ware-houses, ship-building yards, the English, 
French, and United States hospitals under charge of resident physicians, the- 
Protestant cemetery, and several of the churches are the chief local attrac- 
tions. The population in 1886 numbered 100,926, of Avhom 75,000 were 
natives, 6,500 British, 3,750 French, and 1,500 Italians. The city was almost 
entirely destroyed by an earthquake in 1822, suffered severely from a fire in 
1858, and was bombarded by the Spaniards in 1866. These calamities per- 
mitted avast improvement in the rebuilding of the city; and several public 
works, such as laying out the government square on which the Exchange is 
located, and Victoria square which has a theatre, the construction of a mole 
for the loading and discharge of vessels in the harbor, and the opening of 
coal mines in the south and quicksilver mines in the hills back of the city, 
have since been carried out. The city is lighted with gas, possesses street 
railroads, banks, foundries, and various manufactories, and is connected with, 
the capital by railroad and telegraph. 




THE REPUBLIC OF PERU. 

ERU, the traditional home of the Incas, the land of extreme antiq- 
uity and of fabulous silver wealth, and one of the chief maritime 
nations of South America, lies on the west coast of the continent, 
is bounded on the north by Ecuador, on the east by Brazil and Bolivia, on 
the south by Chili, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Previous to the 
disastrous war with Chili, 1879-81, its territory lay between latitude 3° 20' and 
22° 20' south, and longitude 67°and 81° 26' west, and embraced an area of 
504,000 square miles. It had a width varying from 60 to 750 miles, a total 
length of 1.250 miles, excepting the coast line which was 1,300 miles, and a 
population of 3,400,000. In 1886 its area was estimated at somewhat less 
than 500,000 square miles, and its population at 2,600,000. Chili took from it 
the littoral province of Tarapaca by the treaty of peace, leaving it divided 
politically into seventeen departments and one littoral province, Callao. 

The entire length of country is traversed by two parallel ranges of the 
Andes, dividing the surface into the coast, the sierra, and the montana 
regions. The first is a sandy waste, from twenty to sixty miles in width ; the 
second is about 100 miles wide, covers 150,000 square miles, or one-third the 
entire territory of the country, contains nine-tenths of the cultivated area, 
and four-fifths of the population ; and the third is a comparatively little known 
tract, supposed to be quite fertile, containing vast navigable rivers, and in- 
habited chiefly by Indians still uncivilized. The climate is dry and hot on 
the coast, cold in the central or elevated portion, and hot again in the ex- 
treme east. The mountains are rich in minerals, and the valleys very fertile. 
Agriculture is carried on in the interior in a primitive manner, but in other 
localities modern appliances are used. Near the coast there are many large 
plantations of cotton and sugar, on which the greater part of the work is done 
by steam. The forests abound in cedar, ebony, walnut, and mahogany, as 
well as the cinchona tree from which quinine is made, rubber, bread-fruit tree, 
and a variety of spices. The wild animals are the puma, jaguar, bear, deer, 
boar, armadillo, fox, and several species of the monkey family. Alligators 
swarm the rivers, and seals and tortoises disport along the coast, while the 
rivers and lakes supply numerous edible fish, including the princely salmon. 
Though its sources of mineral wealth are many and exceedingly valuable, 



66o THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

and the productions of its soil correspondingly rich both for domestic con- 
sumption and export, its entire yield of natural, cultivated, and manufactured 
articles is inferior in aggregate value to that of the millions of tons of guano 
that have been deposited by birds along the seacoast and on the neighboring 
islands, extending in some places to a depth of eighty feet. Next in value 
are the deposits of nitrate of soda in the province of Tarapaca. The hand- 
ling of these articles constituted a government monopoly for many years; 
but Chili took possession of both industries after the war of 1879-81. There 
are about 15,000 mines of all kinds in the country, about 600 of which are 
regularly worked, and a single one of silver has an annual yield of 1,500,000 
ounces. In 1878 there were exported 450,000 tons of guano, 250,000 tons 
of saltpetre, and 200,000 tons of sugar. Recent trade of all kinds with the 
United States has been, exports: (1884) $2,077,645,(1885) $1,764,890,(1886) 
$963,480, (1887) $461,726; imports: (1884) $1,043,902,(1885) $735,979' (1886) 
$798,577, (1887) $717,968. The total national indebtedness amounted to 
$373,456,940 on July I, 1886, and the budget for 1887-8 estimated the reven- 
ues at $16,183,674, and the expenditures at $13,632,386. 

The government is modelled after that of the United States. The execu- 
tive authority is vested in a president for a term of four years, and the legis- 
lative in a senate of forty-four members and a house of no representatives. 
The established church is the Roman Catholic, and none others are tolerated. 
Education is compulsory and gratuitous, and is well cared for by the govern- 
ment and large cities. The country is full of antiquarian remains, especially 
in the line of various structures, temples, aqueducts, walls, and monuments, 
composed of enormous blocks of stone. 

Peru was an old country when the Spaniards discovered it early in the six- 
teenth century, for they found it inhabited by the Quichuas and Aymaras, 
two powerful races in subjection to the Inca dynasty. It became and re- 
mained a viceroyalty of Spain till 1821, when the Argentine general, Jos6 de 
San Martin, after a successful invasion, proclaimed its independence. He held 
the protectorship a short time, and was succeeded by General Bolivar, who 
defeated the Spaniards in 1824, and drove them from their last stronghold, 
Callao, two years later. A republican form of government was established 
in 1825; the Peru-Bolivian confederation was formed 1836, and overturned 
1839; slavery was abolished 1855; Bolivia, Chili, and Ecuador became allies 
of Peru in a war with Spain 1866; and a war was waged between Peru and 
Chili 1879-1881, which resulted, after brilliant exploits on sea and land by 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 66r 

both countries, in the conquest of the southern provinces of Peru, the loss of 
its sea-coast territory and the occupation of its beautiful capital, Lima, 



CITY OF LIMA. 



IMA — Ciudad de los Reyes — " The City of the Kings," as it was first 
called, founded Jan. 6, 1535 (O. S.), by Pizarro, is the most inter- 
esting, historically, of all the capitals reared by the Spaniards, and 
was for 300 years the seat of " the haughtiest and perhaps the most luxurious 
and profligate of the Viceregal Courts." Its viceroys were invested with royal 
power, and ruled in the height of Peruvian glory. No city had such convents 
and such churches, none were endowed with such a prodigality of wealth. In 
Lima was the College of San Marcos, the oldest university in America, founded 
fifty-six years before the English landed in Virginia, and sixty-nine before the 
Mayflower pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock. There, too, according tO' 
the Hon. E. George Squier, the Viceroy La Palata rode through the streets^ 
of his capital in 168 1 on a horse whose mane was strung with pearls, and 
whose shoes were of gold, over a pavement of solid ingots of silver. 

The city, which is the capital of the republic and of the department and 
province of the same name, is situated on the Rimac River, six miles from 
Callao, its seaport on the Pacific, and had a population in 1881 of about 125,- 
000. The city stands on high ground in a spacious and fertile valley, is about 
two miles in extent, is surrounded by two walls, and from its numerous domes 
and spires has an imposing and picturesque appearance at a distance. It is 
regularly laid out in square blocks of houses about 400 feet each way, the 
houses are built low on account of frequent earthquakes, and there are thirty- 
three public squares, the most spacious being the Plaza Mayor, which em- 
braces an area of nine acres in the centre of the city, and is connected with 
a grand bridge across the Rimac by a magnificent boulevard. On the north 
side of this square is the government palace, a large but gloomy^rooking 
edifice, formerly occupied by the viceroys, and, under the republic, by the 
courts. On the east side are the cathedral, a handsome building of con- 
siderable extent, built of stone, with two towers 133 feet high, and most lav- 
ishly and artistically ornamented and furnished within, and the archiepiscopal 
palace, now in part used by the congress. On the west side are the town 
hall and the city prison, and on the south are private residences, well built 



■662 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

.and richly furnished. All the above public buildings were erected by Fran- 
■cisco Pizarro, whose ashes repose beneath the grand altar in the cathedral. 
There are fifty-six other ecclesiastical edifices, one of the most splendid of 
which is the immense church of San Pedro, founded in 1598, which has seven- 
teen altars, and contains the national library. A fountain stands in each of 
the four corners of the Plaza Mayor, and one in the centre surrounded by a 
-gorgeous circular garden. In the centre of the Plaza de la Independencia is 
an equestrian statue of General Bolivar. In 1873 a portion of the ancient 
wall in the southwestern part of the city was pulled down, and a beautiful 
boulevard was laid out, and named in honor of Henry Meiggs, the American 
engineer and builder of Peru's great railroad over and through the mountains. 
The famous marble statue of Columbus was then erected between the boule- 
vard and the exhibition building. There are eight national colleges in the 
city, an ecclesiastical seminary, a medical college, a normal school, a military 
and naval institute, an industrial municipal school, a botanic garden, a national 
museum, the largest circus for bull-fighting in the world, two theatres, and 
numerous public baths. The exports and imports of the city together aver- 
age over $25,000,000 per annum. Lima suffered severely from earthquakes in 
1630, 1687, 1746, 1806, and 1828. 



CITY OF CALLAO. 

ALLAO, the port of Lima and principal seaport of Peru, is a fortified 
city on the Pacific Ocean, six miles by railroad from the capital. It 
is in latitude 12° 4' south, and longtitude ^2° 13' west, has an ad- 
mirable harbor and roadstead sheltered by two islands, and further improved 
by harbor walls, floating and wet docks, and a costly mole. It is defended by 
the fortress of San Felipe, from whose turrets the flag of Castile and Leon 
floated for the last time on the American continent as the emblem of Spanish 
authority. The city has gas works, sugar refineries, machine shops, and steam 
cranes for loading and unloading vessels. The chief exports are guano, gold, 
silver, saltpetre, cinchona, sugar, hides, raw cotton, copper, and Indian wool. 
Its population in 1886 was 33,502. Callao was destroyed by an earthquake 
in 1746, and sustained great damage and loss of life by a tidal wave in January, 
1878. The blockade of the port by the Chilians in the war of 1 880-1 was a 
very serious matter for the Peruvians, as it was the rendezvous of all the 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 663 

lines of foreign steamships, and the point at which the commercial mails of 
all nations engaged in South Pacific trade were made up. The harbor was 
full of- vessels from all parts of the world when the blockade was established; 
but as no foreign power has a right to interfere in a war between the South 
American republics, their presence could do Peru no good. 



THE UNITED STATES of COLOMBIA. 

HE United States of Colombia is a republic in the north-western 
part of South America, includes the Isthmus of Panama, which 
connects the two continents, was formerly known as New Granada, 
has an area of 586,000 square miles, and had a population in 1886 of 3,500,000. 
It is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the northeast and east 
hy Venezuela, on the southeast and south by Brazil and Ecuador, and on the 
west by the Pacific Ocean. The republic is composed of nine states, An- 
tioquia, Bolivar, Boyaca, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Panama, Santan- 
der, and Tolima; the chief cities are Bogata, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Sabanilla 
or Baranquilla, Rio Hicha, Buenaventura, Panama, and Lumaco; and the 
capital is Bogota, on the San Francisco River. The Andes Mountains here 
have three great ranges, the eastern, central, and western, between which are 
the large valleys of Cauca and Magdalena. The eastern branches have a series 
of table-lands from 8,000 to 14,000 feet above the sea level, and in the south- 
ern part are the table-lands of Pasto and Luquerres, with a mean elevation of 
14,000 feet. The climate on the highlands is mild and healthful ; but on the 
lowlands and along the coast it is intensely hot. 

The republic is exceedingly rich in natural resources. There is scarcely 
a state which does not possess in its soil more or less gold ; and even though 
rudely operated by a few laborers they produced annually between 1870 and 
1880 from $10,000,000 to $12,000,000 worth of that metal. The district of 
Choco has produced nearly all the platinum, and that of Muzo the emeralds 
that have abounded in foreign markets for several years; and in various parts 
of the country are mines of silver, copper, lead, iron, quicksilver, coal, ame- 
thysts, and other varieties of valuable stones and minerals. Wheat, potatoes, 
the breadfruit, Peruvian bark, cedar, balsam, lignum vitae, mahogany, rub- 
ber, and vanilla thrive with little cultivation. Among the peculiar varieties 
of tree-growth are three which have extraordinary virtues: one as a specific 



664 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

against inflammation, the second for stanching effusion of the blood, and 
the third for instantaneously stopping bleeding at the nose. 

In 1886 the army consisted of 3,000 men. The law makes one per cent, 
of the male population liable to be called to arms in case of war. The funded 
debt of the republic on Dec. 31, 1884, amounted to $26,000,000, of which 
$11,000,000 were on foreign account. The commercial dealings with the 
United States showed exports (1885) $2,342,077; (1886) $3,008,921; and im- 
ports (1885) $5,397,412 ; (1886) $5,294,798. The transit trade through the ports, 
of Panama and Aspinwall is of far greater importance than the direct com- 
merce, its value being estimated at not less than $85,000,000 per annum. 

Since the early history of this continent the cutting of a passage through 
the Isthmus, which would unite the two great oceans, has been the object of 
constant solicitude and speculation on the part of commercial nations, en- 
terprising engineers, and far-seeing publicists; and since the beginning of the 
sixteenth century innumerable surveys have been made for a connecting canal 
through Tehuantepec, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. In the early part 
of 1888 the great project seemed in a fair way toward accomplishment, M. de 
Lesseps being then well advanced on his Panama ship-canal, and work on 
a second, through Nicaragua, in which the United States was more particu- 
larly interested, being' actively opened. But in the latter part of 1888 the 
French scheme became seriously impaired by the bankruptcy of the company, 
and in May, 1889, on the failure of the French people to respond with sufificient 
contributions, and the government to vote a subsidy or sanction a public lot- 
tery in its interest, the scheme was abandoned, and all the work done reverted 
to the possession of the Colombian government. This failure of the French 
project gave renewed encouragement to the advocates of the "American plan " 
for Nicaragua. The United States Congress passed a bill creating a corpora- 
tion for prosecuting the work, the secretary of the navy granted a distin- 
guished officer a year's leave of absence to enable him to become construct- 
ing engineer, and in May, 1889, the first shipment of men and machinery was 
made from New York by the corporation. It is proposed to improve the 
capacious and long neglected harbor of Greytown — designed for one termini — 
by dredging out the accumulated silt, and building a long breakwater. Esti- 
mated cost, $2,000,000. 

New Granada was discovered by Alonzo de Ojeda in 1499; the first settle- 
ment was made at Santa Maria la Antigua in 15 10; but the interior of the' 
country was only conquered toward the middle of the sixteenth century by 



• THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 665 

Benalcazar and Ximenes de Quesneda, who founded Santa F6 de Bogata in 
1545. The Spaniards remained in possession of the country till 181 1, when 
New Granada proclaimed its independence, and the war that ensued lasted till 
1 82 1. New Granada, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama formed a union in 
1823. This was dissolved 1831, and the territory was divided between Vene- 
zuela, New Granada, and Ecuador. A confederation was formed 1857, ^^''^ ^ 
new constitution proclaimed the following year. The present form of govern- 
ment was established 1861, and the present constitution adopted 1863. 
Like all South American countries, this has been kept in turmoil and deluged 
with blood through the machinations of ambitious men, and has had compar- 
atively few years of peaceful government. 



CITY OF BOGOTA. 

OGOTA, the chief crty and capital of the republic, is situated in 
latitude 4° 36' north, and longitude 74° 13' 59" west, and at the 
junction of the San Francisco River with the Rio de Bogata, is 
on a wide plateau 8,800 feet above sea level, and has a climate somewhat 
similar to that of autumn in the middle portion of the United States. The 
city is well-built, with houses averaging two stories in height ; but the streets 
are exceedingly narrow, and few will admit of the passage of ordinary 
vehicles. The residences are constructed of adobe in the form of a hollow 
square, are roofed with tiles, and inclose pretty court-yards and flower gar- 
dens. The streets are paved with cobble-stones and are mainly used for 
laundry purposes, having drainage ditches in the centre supplied with water 
from pipes at the houses on the corners, and in these ditches the people wash 
their clothing. There is a grand plaza in the centre of the city, with the 
cathedral on one side and the president's palace and the government houses 
on the other; and in the centre is a bronze statue of Simon Bolivar on a 
pedestal of stones contributed by the different states in the republic. The 
cathedral is 300 feet long and 100 wide, and contains a large number of mag- 
nificent paintings and decorations placed there by the Spaniards. There are 
thirty-six other churches, two of which are on the mountains, 1,500 feet above 
the city, and a number of monasteries and convents. Other prominent build- 
ings are the market, where one can buy the fruits and vegetables of the tor- 
rid and temperate zones, the University of Bogata, which has an astronomi- 



666 THE COUNTRIKS OF SOUTH AMERICA: * 

cal observatory ranking next after the National Observntory at Washington, 
D.C., three Jesuit colleges, the national academy, the public library, the niint, 
the hospital of San Juan de Dios, the opera house, and the theatre. There are 
mines of silver, gold, and precious stones in its immediate vicinity. One of 
the greatest attractions to the tourist is the grand cataract of Tequendama, a 
few miles below the city, where the lk>gota River has a perpendicular fall of 
650 feet. 

The prevailing religion is the Roman Catholic, but there are no restrictions 
against other forms. Eilucation is highly appreciated and liberally advanced. 
The city has suffered severely several times from earthquakes, and the mas- 
sive cathedral was greatly damaged by one in 1827. It is on account of the 
prevalence of eartlujuakes that nearly all the buildings are but one and two 
stories in height. The chief exports of Bogota are gold, silver, copper, tobacco, 
coffee, cocoanuts, and rubber. The population in 1886 was 40,883. 




THE RP:PUBLIC of VENEZUELA. 

Ill'", republic of Veiuvucia is in the extreme north of South America, 
between latitude 1" 8' and \ 2'' 16' north, and longitude 60'' and 
73° 17' west, ami is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, 
on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and British Guiana, on the south by Brazil, 
and on the west by the United States of Colombia. According to a cen- 
sus taken in 1884, it had an area of 632,695 square miles and a population of 
2,121,988. Politically it is divided into eight states, one federal district, eight 
territories, and two national settlements. The country is traversed by two 
distinct mountain systems north and south of the Orinoco River, with an 
average height of from 5,(xk) to 6,500 feet; but in the Sierra Nevadas there 
are two peaks which reach an altitude of 15,000 feet. Venezuela is watered 
by the Orinoco with its 400 navigable tributaries, a large number of streams 
which empty into the Caribbean Sea, and numerous lagoons and lakes. 

The soil is exceedingly fertile, and the climate is divided into hot, temper- 
ate, and cold according to location. In mineral resources the country poss- 
esses gold mines m the Vuruari liistrict, which are among the richest in the 
world and to which England laid semi-official claim in the early part of 1888. 
There are also considerable veins of silver, platinum, copper, iron, tin, zinc, 
and quicksilver, as well as mines of diamonds and other precious stones. But 



Til KIR CAPITALS AND SKAPORTS. 667 

thoug^h the total mineral yield of 1884 reached the value of |;4,452,050, of 
which $3,243,380 represented the output of gold, the mining inchistry has 
never been adequately developetl ; and for many years the country has been 
distinguished among its sister repubHcs as a stock-raising and agricultural 
section. In 1873 the chief occupation of the people was cattle-raising, and 
the country possessed 1,389,800 head of cattle, 1,128,273 sheep and goats, 
362,579 swine, 93,800 horses, and 47,200 mules. In eleven years this stock 
had much more than doubled, the reports for 1884 showing 2,926,733 cattle, 
3,490,563 sheep and goats, 976,500 swine, 291,603 iiorses, and 906,467 nudes. 
The agricultural industry was represented that year by 852,500 acres under 
cultivation, and a yield of cofTee, the chief product, worth $11,255,000, of 
sugar $7,686,000, of corn $6,000,000, and of cocoa $2,998,000. The principal 
articles of export arc coffee, cattle, sugar, hides, gold, cocoa, tallow, horses, 
skins, and cabinet woods; and of import, cotton, linen, silk, flour, provisions, 
hardware, and wines. The custom-house reports show the recent trade with 
the United States as follows: exports: (1880) $6,039,092, (1886) $5,791,621, 
(1887) $8,261,271; imports: (1880) $2,330,745, (1886) $2,695,588, (1887) $2,- 
827,010. 

The constitution of Venezuela is a close imitation of that of the United 
States, and guarantees personal and religious freedom to every citizen. 
Like all South American countries the prevailing form of religion is the 
Roman Catholic, but all its clergy are subordinate to tlie civil authorities, 
and there are no restrictions upon the observance of other forms. Its edu- 
cational system is comprehensive, progressive, and handsomely supported. 
There are two large universities, six federal schools of the first class and 
fourteen of the second, four influential normal schools, twenty-four high 
grade private schools, nine national colleges for girls, a polytechnic institute, 
a school of arts and trades, a naval institute, and a school of telegraphy. 
Elementary education has been compulsory and gratuitous since 1870. A 
generous effort has been made to establish libraries throughout the country 
also. In 1874 all the public collections of books and documents, and those 
taken from the suppressed convents, were consolidated in the library of the 
University of Caracas, and there placed at the convenience of the public; and 
the government has since aided in the establishment of public libraries in 
each of the capitals of the eight states, besides founding a national museum 
in Caracas, which has valuable collections in the departments of national and 
natural history, ethno'^raphy, zoology, and geology. The chief cities are 



668 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

Caracas, the capital, population (1887) 70,509, Valencia, 36,145, and Barque- 
simeto, 28,918. La Guayra is the seaport of the capital. 

Columbus discovered the island of Margarita in 1498, and in the following 
year Vespucci examined the coast as far as the present Gulf of Maracaibo. 
A lacustrine Indian village was found, from which the Spaniards named the 
place Venezuela, or " Little Venice." In 1520 the first permanent settlement 
was made at Cumona; in 1522 Barquesimeto was founded; in 1555 Valencia; 
and 1557 Caracas. During a revolution in 1810-11 the people declared their 
independence of Spain, but were speedily subjected. In 18 19 Venezuela, New 
Granada, and Ecuador united in forming the republic of Colombia, which 
M^as recognized by Spain in 1823. Six years afterward this republic was 
divided into three independent states, Venezuela adopting a federal consti- 
tution in 1830. The country has been more free from revolutions than most 
of the other South American republics, though it has had its share. 




CITY OF CARACAS. 

ARACAS, the capital of the republic as well as of the federal district, 
is in latitude 10° 30' 50" north, and longitude 6^° 5' west, at the 
eastern end of the valley of the same name, and nearly 3,000 feet 
above sea-level. Its streets and avenues cross one another at right angles, 
forming blocks of houses in almost exact squares. The city is well drained 
and abundantly supplied with wholesome water by several streams, and is 
kept remarkably clean by a host of carrion vultures that sweep through 
the streets and devour all manner of garbage and pestiferous refuse. Four 
beautiful avenues divide the city into equal part.s, in each of which are 
numerous plazas or public squares, handsome gardens, churches, and public 
buildings. In the centre is the Plaza Bolivar, and from it extend the North, 
East, South, and West avenues in a straight line far out into the country. 
The streets running parallel to Avenues North and South, to the west of 
those thoroughfares, are designated by even numbers, and those to the east 
of the avenues by odd numbers; and the streets crossing these at right angles 
are given odd numbers if they lie to the north of Avenues East and West, 
and even if to the South. Caracas comprises five parishes, Alta Gracia in the 
northwest, Cadelaria in the northeast, Santa Rosalia in the southeast, Santa 
Teresa in the south, and San Juan in the southwest. In each of these there 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 669 

is a parisn church, and in addition to them there are eight other churches in 
the federal district, which includes the actual extent of the city proper and 
its immediate suburbs. The cathedral and the church of Alta Gracia are the 
most notable buildings, though the University of Caracas, the National 
Museum close by, and several hospitals possess much national and local im- 
portance. The city is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop, is esteemed 
very healthful, and has been visited by several earthquakes, one of which, in 
1812, caused the loss of over 12,000 lives. According to the last census there 
were 9,224 residences in the federal district, sheltering over 70,000 persons. 

La GuAyra, the seaport, is in latitude 10° 36' north, and 66° 57' west, has 
a deep bay and a good anchorage, but is wholly unprotected against the fu- 
rious east winds. It is the most extensively frequented port on the coast, is 
defended by the fort of Cerro Colorado and numerous coast batteries, has a 
healthful climate and a temperature ranging from 100° to 110° F., and enjoys 
an extensive foreign and coasting trade. It has but two streets. The popu- 
lation was estimated at 8,000 in 1887. 



THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC. 

HE Argentine Republic, an independent state on the southeast 
coast of South America, previously known as the Provinces of the 
3i Rio de la Plata and afterward as the Argentine Confederation, is 
situated between latitude 22° and 56° south, and longitude 53° 30' and 70° 
west, and since 1881 includes a large portion of Patagonia as well as of Terra 
del Fuego. It is bounded on the north by Bolivia and Paraguay, on the east 
by Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the 
Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by Chili, the Andes Mountains separating 
the two 'republics. Previous to the treaty with Chili in 1881, its area was 
estimated at 841,000 square miles, and its population at 1,768,681 in 1869, 
and 2,400,000, exclusive of 93,291 Indians, in 1876. After the cession of por- 
tions of Patagonia and Terra del Fuego, the area became enlarged to over 
1,200,000 square miles, and the population to 2,942,000, which was officially 
divided as follows: natives, 2,121,000; Italians, 154,000; Spaniards, 73,200; 
French, 69,400; English and Irish, 23,000; and natives of other South Ameri- 
can countries the remainder. 



6/0 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

Over three-quarters of the country is a plain whose soil has been highly- 
enriched by decayed vegetation, and is well watered by the Parana and its 
numerous tributaries. Excepting the extreme western border and a few iso- 
lated hills in the southeast, the country is exceedingly level and well adapted 
to agriculture, which is by no means pursued as extensively or systematically 
as the natural conditions would justify. The climate is in general healthy^ 
though the atmosphere is very dry. In the south it resembles that of Nor- 
way, near Buenos Ayres that of England, and in the north that of France. 
The central portion is subject to warm north winds freighted with heavy- 
vapor, heavy thunder-storms are frequent ; the pampero, a strong southw^est 
wind, brings dryness from the Andes, and the zonda, a lasting north wnnd,, 
brings intense heat. Physical compensation, however, is found in invariably 
cool nights. 

The natural resources are considerable and valuable, though lacking much 
of the means and spirit of development seen in the United States. There 
are large mines of gold, silver, iron — though the country imports from Europe 
almost all it needs — salt, gypsum, alum, sulphur, coal, copper, and pumice- 
stone. Along the Andes and on the banks of the Paraguay River are dense 
forests of important woods, while palms and other tropical trees abound in 
the north. Animal life embraces the llama of the plains; jaguars, pumas, 
capibara, and ounce in the forests; tapir in the north; deer in the pampas 
or grassy plains; the condor, Caracara vulture, parrots, and humming birds 
of exquisite plumage and enchanting song; seals, sea lions, and sea elephants 
are taken on the coast, and the rivers abound with a variety of fish, lamprey, 
trout, skate, and other table favorites. 

The chief industries are the cultivation of wheat, corn, oats, sugar cane, 
tobacco, cotton, flax, and peanuts, the breeding of cattle, goats, and sheep, 
mining and smelting of gold, silver, and copper, and the manufacture of 
guano, furs, ostrich feathers, and Liebig's extract of beef. The Pampa horse 
roams in herds of 8,000 to 10,000, and yields for export annually 250,00a 
hides, while cattle, which seem to swarm the plains in millions, furnish an 
average of 3,000,000 hides per annum for export. In 1881, 3,397 vessels of 
413,419 tons entered, and 2,489 vessels of 321,168 tons cleared the various 
ports; and in 1882 the exports — about one-half hides and three-eighths wool 
— aggregated $58,441,000 and the imports $59,270,000. In the latter year 
there were 8,466 miles of telegraph and 1,617 miles of railroad in operation. 

The republic is composed of fourteen provinces, of which those of Buenos 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 671 

Ayres, Mendoza, Cordova, Corrientes, Salta, and Entre Rios are the most 
populous, each having over 48,000 inhabitants. The country is governed 
according to a constitution adopted in 1853 and since frequently revised, 
which invested the executive authority in a president elected by representa- 
tives of the provinces for a term of six years, the legislative in a congress; 
composed of a house of representatives of fifty-four members and a senate 
of two members from each province, and the judiciary in a supreme court 
and a number of subordinate ones. The prevailing form of religion is the 
Roman Catholic, though all others are tolerated. Buenos Ayres has an 
archbishop, and the Littoral, Cordova, Cuyo, and Salta a bishop each. Prior 
to 1882 but little attention was paid the cause of education by the govern- 
ment, but since then universities have been erected in Buenos Ayres and 
Cordova, and colleges in those cities and in Concepcion. 

The history of the Argentine Republic dates back to the year 15 16, when 
Juan Diaz de Solis discovered the Plata River; but more immediately from 
the year 1535, when Don Pedro de Mendoza founded the city of Buenos 
Ayres, the present capital. For many years the settlements were subject to 
attacks by native Indians, and were controlled politically by the viceroy of 
Peru till 1778. The first confederation embraced the provinces of the Rio 
de la Plata, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia, which were formed into a sep- 
arate viceroyalty of Peru, with Buenos Ayres as its capital, in 1778. In i8ia 
the viceroy was expelled, and in 18 13 the Spanish authority was thrown off, 
and a republic was established by a constituent assembly. Three years later 
the united provinces declared their independence and elected a dictator of 
the republic; but it was not till 1821 that they succeeded in terminating the 
Spanish domination by force of arms in several brilliant engagements. Then 
followed a long period of revolutions, secessions, and bitter warfare. A 
peace was concluded 1840, but soon afterward complications arose which led 
to the intervention of France and England. Paraguay and Uruguay became 
independent republics. The province of Buenos Ayres seceded 1852, but 
re-entered the confederation 1859. The constitution was adopted May nth, 
1853, and was revised in i860 and 1862, but the country was distracted by 
revolutions, incited mainly by aspirants to the presidency, to as late a period 
as 1880. 



CITY OF BUENOS AYRES. 

UENOS AYRES, the capital of the republic and of the province 
of the same name, is the largest city, and an important seaport. 
It is in latitude 34° 36' south, and longitude 58° 22' west, on the 
right bank of the Rio de la Plata, 100 miles from Montevideo, and 150 miles 
from the ocean. The streets, which are straight and cross each other at 
riglit angles, remind a tourist of Moorish and Spanish street scenes. A 
plaza or park extends along the entire water front, and is beautified with 
majestic palms and vines, parterres of flowers, numerous fountains, and some 
excellent statuary. The buildings are mostly of soft brick plastered over, 
and generally of a quiet buff color, and the streets are too narrow to permit 
tree-planting in them. There is a pretty park at Palermo, a few miles from 
the city, with superb avenues of palms, and a collection of the wild animals 
of the country in cages, including jaguars, pumas, and others. The public 
buildings include a Roman Catholic cathedral, the government building, a 
number of old and handsomely decorated churches, and an educational insti- 
tution combining a college, a normal school, an observatory, and a valuable 
library. The city bears a particularly picturesque appearance by night as 
well as by day, and the promenade effects are greatly heightened by the rich 
costumes of the ladies. Everybody smokes cigarettes, and it is no exception 
to see the dainty fingertips of a belle stained brown with nicotine. The 
population of the city in 1882 was 295,000, and in 1886, 398,498. 



THE REPUBLIC OF BOLIVIA. 

OLIVIA, the most central republic of South America, is bounded 
on the north and east by Brazil, on the south by the Argentine 
Republic and Chili, and on the west by Peru and Chili, and pre- 
vious to the war with Chili in 1879-81 lay between latitude 9° and 23° 15' 
south, and longitude 57° 20' and 69° 30' west, and had an area of 842,000 
square miles. A result of Chili's victory in that memorable tripartite struggle 
was the cession to it of all Bolivia's coast territory, and since then no definite 
statement has been made either of its area or population. The greater 




THE COITNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA. 673 

part of the country is mountainous and distinguished by numerous enormous 
peaks, many being living volcanoes. The plateau of Potosi has an elevation 
of 13,000 feet above sea level; Mount Sajama is 22,760 feet high, Mount 
Illampu 23,000, and Mount Illimani 21,155. Three tributaries of the Madeira 
and three of the Parana rivers drain the country. Owing to its extreme ele- 
vation, Bolivia has five distinct grades of climate; the very cold, on elevations 
of 13,000 feet and over; the cold between 13,000 and i[,ooo; the high valleys, 
between 11,000 and 9,000; the medium, between 9,000 and 6,000; and the 
purely tropical. 

The natural resources are gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, quicksilver, iron, 
coal, nitre, "and salt; of forest growths there are excellent qualities of rubber, 
cinchona, and various medicinal roots and barks; and there are large and 
valuable deposits of guano. The wild animals embrace the llama, vicuna, 
alpaca, guanaco, several species of monkeys, wild-cat, bear, and wild boar. 
The agricultural productions include potatoes, oca, quinoa, barley, wheat, 
corn, cacao, coca, bananas, coffee, cotton, tobacco, and sugar-cane. There 
is no direct commercial intercourse between Bolivia and the rest of the world, 
owing to the very poor facilities for transportation ; but a considerable trade 
is carried on with the adjoining countries, and to foreign ones through Bra- 
zil, Chili, and Peru, as Bolivia has now no sea coast nor port. The exports 
include silver, of which there is an annual production valued at $2,250,000, 
cinchona, coffee, yellow and white cotton, guano, copper, tin, and nitre ; and 
the imports cotton and woollen goods, iron, hardware, silks, furniture, and 
jewelry. In 1879 the total value of exports was about $5,000,000, while the 
imports amounted to nearly $5,750,000. 

Up to 1880 there were but three railroads in the country, and though 
money had been appropriated two years previously to extend existing lines 
and open new ones, it was subsequently diverted to war purposes. A line of 
telegraph extends from Chililago, on Lake Titicaca. which is the largest in- 
land body of water in South America, having an area of 4,000 square miles, 
to La Paz and Orura, a distance of 180 miles. In 1880 the public debt 
amounted to $30,000,000, and the last reported revenue was $2,930,000, and 
expenditure $4,505,000. Since the war and the reduction of the army to a 
peace footing, that branch of the public service has cost two-thirds of the 
revenue, and consisted of 2,421 men, with eight generals and suf^cient other 
of^cers to provide one ofificer for every two men. While all creeds are tol- 
erated, the Roman Catholic has been the prevailing form of religion since 



674 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

1538, when the Spaniards conquered the country; and the four universities 
and half-dozen colleges and schools that have constituted the educationali 
system in late years, owe their existence and influence almost wholly to the- 
clergy of that church. 

The chief cities and towns are La Paz, Cochabamba, Sucre or Chuquisaca,. 
Potosi, Santa Cruz, Oruro, Tarija, and Trinidad. La Paz and Oruro have 
both been the capital of the republic in past years, and Chuquisaca, or Sucre 
as it is more generally called, is now (1889) the seat of executive authority. 
The constitution that Simon Bolivar, after whom the country is named, gave 
the republic in 1826 has since been amended and altered entirely out of its. 
original form. The original four years' term of the president has been changed 
to six years, then to a life tenure, and then back again to four years ; but 
the internal revolutions have been so numerous that it would be difificult to 
mention a single president who has lived or been permitted to serve through, 
any of these terms. 

When Bolivia formed a part of the Inca empire of Cuzco (1018-1524), it 
enjoyed a high degree of civilization. The Spanish dominion was firmly es- 
tablished in 1780, and for some years the country formed a part of the vice- 
royalty of La Plata. A congress assembled in 1825, after many years of revo- 
lution and bloodshed, and declared the country an independent republic. In 
the following year a constitution was adopted, and General Sucre was elected 
president. In 1828 he was forced to leave the country; in 1835 the Bolivians- 
invaded Peru and annexed a portion of their territory; 1839 ^^e Bolivians; 
were defeated by Chili ; 1866 Bolivia joined the alliance of Peru, Ecuador,, 
and Chili against Spain; 1868 a new constitution was adopted and in the 
following year was overthrown and restored within three months-; and 1879- 
81 a war undertaken by Peru with Bolivia as an ally against Chili resulted in 
Bolivia losing a fourth-part of its territory and a half of its accumulated 
wealth, and in Peru having the flower of its citizenship killed in battle on 
land and sea, and its fairest city bombarded and occupied by the Chilians. 
Between the foregoing events ambitious generals were elected and proclaimed 
president, deposed, expelled from the country, and assassinated with consid- 
erable regularity; and it may be said truthfully that in the hundred years 
ending with 1880, Bolivia was not free from revolution nor war for a. consec- 
utive period of five years. 



CITY OF SUCRE. 

UCRE, the capital of the republic, is in latitude 19° 40' south, and 
longitude 65° 35' north, on a small plateau above the Rio de la 
^ Plata, and at an elevation of 9,343 feet above the sea level. It is a 
-well-built city, with clean and spacious streets, and its houses, generally two 
:stories in height, are provided with small paved courts with water running 
through them. The city has a grand square on which stands a notable foun- 
tain, and several buildings of considerable repute, among which are the 
magnificent cathedral, built in the Moorish style of architecture, with lofty 
towers and an immense dome; the churches of San Francisco and San 
Miguel; the president's palace; the seminary of St. Christopher, College of 
Junin ; the " Colegio de las Educandas," a large female orphan asylum; sev- 
eral monasteries; and a theatre. Sucre is the see of a Roman Catholic 
archbishop, has valuable silver mines in its immediate vicinity, and a popu- 
lation composed mainly of Indians, who speak the Chichua language. The 
whole population was estimated in 1880 at 23,979. 




THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR. 

CUADOR is a republic on the west coast of South America, be- 
tween Peru and the United States of Colombia, and lies directly 
beneath the equator, from which fact it derives its name. Its 
geographical location is between latitude 1° 50' north and 4° 50' south, and 
longitude 70° and 81° west; area, including the Tortoise Islands, 251,322 
square miles; population, according to the census of 1885, 1,0x34,651, of whom 
about 200,000 were uncivilized Indians. The territory is unequally divided 
into three districts by the Andes and Cordilleras Mountains, between which 
is a fertile table-land from 8,000 to 9,500 feet above sea level. This section is 
a fine agricultural region, capable of producing all the cereals and vegetation 
known to the temperate zone; but agriculture is there little understood as a 
science, in fact, cocoa is the only article cultivated with any degree of thor- 
oughness, and it forms the principal wealth of the country. 

The mountain ranges in Ecuador are distinguished by the presence of 
sixteen active volcanoes, the most noted of which is Cotopaxi, with an eleva- 



6^6 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

tion of 19,498 feet; Chimborazo is 21,414 feet high, Cayambe 19,386, and 
Antisana 19,140. The country is believed to possess large wealth in precious 
metals; gold and silver, iron, coal, and salt are known to exist in paying 
quantities; but with the exception of salt, which forms a government monop- 
oly, the mines are undeveloped. The chief rocks are granite, syenite, tra- 
chyte, and porphyry. The forests contain valuable hard woods, and a pro- 
fusion of the cinchona tree, palm, Brazil nut, vegetable ivory, vanilla, 
rubber, tolu balsam, and the croton tiglhun from which croton oil is obtained. 
There is but one railroad in the country (1889), connecting Quito, the capital, 
with Guayaquil, the chief port, and there are no telegraph lines. The state 
religion is the Roman Catholic, and no other forms are tolerated; and the 
whole educational system is under the control of the priests. There is an 
archbishop at the capital, and a bishop in each of the provinces, which are 
subdivided into parishes, each of which has a public school, and in them lit- 
tle more than the primary branches is taught. It is estimated that fully or.e- 
half the population are unable to read or write. The total number of schools 
in all the provinces in 1885 was 522, with 45,533 pupils and 836 teachers, and 
the whole cost of education that year was only $152,080. 

Ecuador is divided politically into three departments, Quito, Guayaquil^ 
and Azuay, and these into seven provinces, Carchi, Imbabura, Pichincha, 
Leon, Tungurahua, Chimborazo, and Quito. The constitution represents the 
democratic system of government as illustrated in the United States, and 
the legal as exemplified in the laws of Spain. The president holds office 
four years, and the congress sits every two years. The provinces have terri- 
torial forms of government, and their chief executives are governors appointed 
by the president. In addition to the usual forms of courts, to which the 
judges also are appointed by the president, there are commercial courts to 
which judges are elected by the merchants of the city or parish in which each 
of such courts has jurisdiction. The president and the vice-president are 
nominated by a body of 900 chosen electors, and none but believers in the 
Roman Catholic church are allowed to exercise the right of suffrage. 

The total exports in 1885 amounted in value to $6,680,815 ; the export to 
the United States was $1,131,169, and the import from the United States 
$1,049,392. The amount of cocoa, the chief product, exported that year was 
23,227,048 pounds, worth $5,080,918. In 1886 the custom house at Guaya- 
quil reported a total revenue of $1,940,536, which was $845,335 in excess of 
that of the previous year. The ordinary income of the republic is $4,000,000, 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. O77 

and expenditure $3,360,000. The material and industrial progress of the 
country are retarded by the laws prohibiting freedom of conscience, the tax 
of 10 per cent imposed on all agricultural products, and the lack of proper 
roads. The Hon. Alexander McLean, formerly U. S. Consul at Guayaquil, 
thus sums up some of the disadvantages of a region teeming with undeveloped 
riches: "The crops reach a market in canoes. The implements sparingly 
used are similar to those of the ancient Egyptians. Oats are threshed by 
driving cattle over them, and corn is gathered and sold by the individual ear. 
The crops raised for export are cocoa, coffee, rice, sugar, cotton, and tobacco. 
Rubber and cinchona are not properly crops. They are obtained in a bar- 
barous manner by killing the trees, in the case of rubber for the sap and in 
that of cinchona for the bark." 

Ecuador was discovered by Piza-rro in 1526, and passed into the hands of 
the Spaniards on the downfall of the empine of the Incas. It remained a 
Spanish possession till 181 2, when the inhabitants rose in rebellion. In 1821 
New Granada and Venezuela united and formed the republic of Colombia, 
in 1823 the Spaniards were driven from that part of South America, in 1831 
New Granada and Venezuela separated, and Ecuador, or the ancient king- 
dom of Quito seceded from the former, declared itself an independent repub- 
lic, and adopted a constitution. For many years the boundaries between 
Ecuador and Peru and Venezuela were a subject of much contention. In 
1859 there was an unsuccessful revolution at Guayaquil, and a successful one 
at Quito, which nearly resulted in the country becoming subject to Peru, 
In 1866 Ecuador joined in alliance with Chili and Peru to resist the attacks 
of Spain upon those republics. Revolutions and assassinations have been 
frequent, but the country has not been engaged in a war of any magnitude 
since 1823. It was visited by severe earthquakes on August 13th, 1868, and 
June 29th, 1887. 



CITY OF QUITO. 

UITO, the capital of the republic, is built on a side of the extinct vol- 
cano of Pichincha, in latitude 0° 13' south, and longitude 78° 43' 
west, and at an elevation of over 9,000 feet above sea level. Not- 
withstanding its close proximity to the equator, it enjoys a healthy and equable 
climate, the temperature ranging from 45° to 75° F., and averaging 60°. 
Eight summits of the Andes covered with perpetual snow can be seen from 




6/8 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

its heights, and, in remarkable contrast, the beautiful cultivated valley of 
Chillo. The houses are solidly built and mostly one story in height, to re- 
duce the dangers of earthquakes. The public buildings embrace the palaces 
of the president and archbishop, the cathedral, and municipal hall, all built 
to face the Plaza Mayor, a university, four colleges, eleven schools of a higher 
grade than those previously mentioned, several seminaries, nearly 300 parish 
schools, a mintj a public library, a polytechnic school established 1872, and 
numerous churches, many of them with convents attached. In its neighbor- 
hood are the ruins of many ancient palaces of the Incas, beside traces of the 
great road which in the days of the Incas led from the city to the southern 
extremity of the valley of Titicaca. South of Quito is Tacunga, or Lacta- 
cungo, which, between 1698 and 1797, was four times destroyed by earth- 
quakes. The modern city of Quito was founded by Benalcazar in 1534, and 
had in 1885 a population variously estimated at from 75,000 to 80,000. 
Guayaquil, the chief port of the republic, is on a river of the same name, in 
latitude 2° 12' south, and longitude 79° 39' west, had a population, 1885, of 
25,000, and has long been noted for its manufactures of Panama hats. 



THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY. 

O portion of South America has sustained such extrenie \icissitudes 
through the terrible ordeal of war, as the republic of Paraguay. 
At one time its territory included the enormous region lying be- 
tween latitude 16° south and the Straits of Magellan, and between Chili and 
Peru on the west, and Brazil on the east. By the war with Brazil and the 
Argentine Republic in 1865-70, the country lost much of its best territory, 
beside the lives of nine-tenths of its entire population. Since 1870 the re- 
public has been confined to the tract between latitude 22° and 25° south and 
longitude 53° and 59° west, and been bounded on the north by Bolivia, on 
the west by Venezuela, on the south by the Argentine territory of the Mis- 
sions, and on the east by Brazil. 

Its area was estimated in 1879 at 91,980 square miles, and its population, 
exclusive of 130,000 Indians, at 346,048 — not as much as that of some thrifty 
cities in the United States. The country is well watered by the numerous 
tributaries of the Parana River on the south and east, and of the Paraguay on 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 679 

the west. It also has several large lakes, one covering an area of 100 square 
miles. There are no mountains within its limits, and no land exceeding 3,500 
feet in elevation. The highest portion, in the north, is quite fertile, but the 
greater southern portion is almost wholly covered with swamps and jungles. 
The animal kingdom is similar to that of Brazil, and is without distinctive 
species. It has a vast growth of forest, with some valuable woods ; not more 
than half of its most fertile districts are under cultivation ; and it stands alone 
among the countries of South America in having no mineral resources of 
commercial consequence. 

It is governed, under a constitution, by a president elected for six years, 
who has a cabinet of five ministers. Its dominant religion is the Roman 
Catholic, its language a patois in which the Spanish is combined with that of 
the Guarini Indians, and its educational interests have received but little 
attention till within the last few years. The exports are chiefly yerba mate, 
or Paraguay tea, tobacco, dry hides, tanned hides, tanning bark, oranges, 
lumber, tallow, wax, and wool ; and the imports, silks, woollens, linens, cottons, 
hardware, wines, and general provisions. There is no direct trade with the 
United States worthy of the name. Paraguay has a standing army of only 
2,000 men, and a public debt growing out of the war aggregating $200,000,000. 
It is in no wise prosperous, and there are no indications that it will be for 
many years to come. 

Prior to 18 10 it was a colony of Spain, In that year it declared its inde- 
pendence, and in 18 12 elected Dr. Francia consul, soon afterward making him 
dictator. Under his government, which lasted till his death in 1840, the country 
enjoyed its greatest prosperity, though its development was seriously checked 
by the rigorous policy he purused of excluding all foreigners from the country. 
In 1846 the elder Lopez was elected president for life. He died in 1862, and 
was succeeded by his son, Solano Lopez, the most merciless tyrant of modern 
times. Though a Roman Catholic country, but little respect was shown 
toward the Holy See, either by father or son ; the bishops possessed no im- 
munities by reason of their sacerdotal character, and under the son nearly all 
of the most intelligent priests were ai'rested, tortured, and put to death. The 
younger Lopez was killed in the disastrous war he precipitated with Brazil 
and the Argentine Republic. Since its termination the country has been 
practically a dependency of Brazil. It was discovered by Sebastian Cabot in 
1526. The first bishop for it was appointed 1554, and took with him laws for 
the protection of the natives, who had been reduced to slavery and divided 



68o THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

among the conquerors. Jesuit missionaries settled there in 1556, and con- 
ferred great civihzing benefits upon the country, till their expulsion by the 
Spaniards in 1767. 



CITY OF ASSUMPTION. 

SSUMPTION, the capital of the republic, founded in 1536, is on the 
Paraguay River, in latitude 25° 18' south, and longitude 57° 30' 
west. Owing to its advantageous location, it became a city of con- 
siderable importance under its Spanish settlers. The majority of its houses 
are of brick, one story high, and roofed with tiles. It is a bishop's see, and 
contains a cathedral, government palace, custom-house, military hospital, 
college, and public library. During the war of 1865-70, it was bombarded 
and nearly destroyed by a Brazilian fleet. In 1885 the population was esti- 
mated at 19,463, of whom less than 300 were foreigners. 




THE REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY. 

HE republic of Uruguay, long known as the Banda Oriental del 
Uruguay, lies between latitude 30° and 35° south, and longitude 
53° and 58° 30' west, and is bounded by Brazil on the north, north- 
east, and east, the Atlantic Ocean on the southeast and south, and by the Rio 
de la Plata and the Uruguay rivers on the southwest and west, the latter 
separating it from the Argentine Republic. It has an area of 73,538 square 
miles, and its population was estimated in 1884 at 593,248, of whom 60,000 
were Italians, 30,000 Spaniards, 30,000 French, 30,000 Basques, and 20,000 
Brazilians. More than half the entire population was of foreign extraction. It 
has a coast line accessible to shipping of 625 miles : 200 on the Atlantic Ocean^ 
155 on the Plata, and 270 on the Uruguay, and a land frontier of 450 miles. 

The general character of the country is that of a vast rolling plain, abound- 
ing in natural pastures, and presenting here and there low, well-wooded ridges, 
from which numerous streams descend in all directions. Its chief water- 
courses are the Rio Negro, formed by the union of several small streams that 
rise in the Grand Cochilha near the Brazilian border, and divides the country 
into two nearly equal parts from northeast to southwest; the Rio de la Plata,. 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 68i 

the left bank of which now belongs wholly to Uruguay; and the Uruguay, 
which receives the Rio Negro just before entering the Rio de la Plata, con- 
tains a number of falls, and is navigable for over i,ooo miles. The country 
enjoys a temperate climate, somewhat changeable, and resembling that of 
Spain and Italy, and the air is pure and healthy. A large portion of it is 
fertile land, and a vast extent profitable pasturage. As a result the rearing 
of cattle and sheep forms the chief industry of the people, though in agri- 
culture there are large products of wheat and Indian corn. Hemp and differ- 
ent qualities of flax, nearly all kinds of vegetables, cotton, sugar-cane, the vine, 
and the fruit trees common to the south of Europe thrive abundantly. An 
enumeration in 1882 showed that there were 6,711,778 cattle, 20,000,000 high- 
grade sheep, and 1,500,000 horses in the country, and that 35,000,000 acres 
were in pasture. 

For many years previous to 1884 the country was divided for administra- 
tive purposes into thirteen provinces or departments, but in that year a reor- 
ganization of the territory was made and eighteen departments were estab- 
lished. Uruguay is a republic with an elective president, and a national 
legislature of one senator and three representatives for each department, but 
the actual power is generally centred in the president, who, as in most South 
American countries, is usually a successful military ofificer. In 1882 the ex- 
ports were valued at $21,962,930, and the imports at $18,174,800; 1883 the 
exports were $26,831,555, and imports $21,634,475; and 1885 exports $25,- 
253,600, and imports $25,275,349; of the exports of the latter year $6,000,000 
were on account of hides alone. The public debt amounted to $62,330,491 in 
1886, and in the following year the revenue was $8,181,815 — three-fourths of 
which were derived from custom duties — and the expenditures were $7,414,815. 
Over 500 miles of railroad and over 2,000 miles of telegraph lines were then 
in operation. The prevailing religion of the country is the Roman Catholic; 
but while the constitution of 1864 declared that to be the religion of the state, 
it guaranteed freedom to all other forms. In the admirable educational 
system of the country, in which a number of American ladies and gentlemen 
are employed, there is no apparent denominational bias. 

The first settlement in the Banda Oriental del Uruguay was made by Jesuit 
priests in 1622, though Brazil, of which it was a province many years, was 
discovered by Pedro Alvarez Cabral, a Portuguese navigator, in 1500. The 
Brazilians shook off their allegiance to Portugal and declared in favor of an 
independent kingdom in 1815. The present republic of Uruguay as well as 



682 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

the country called the Seven Missions was comprehended in that portioa 
of the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres situated to the east of the Uruguay River. 
When Brazil declared its independence, the republic of Buenos Ayres was 
plunged into civil war, and Brazil took advantage of the circumstance and 
occupied the Banda Oriental. Buenos Ayres protested against the action, and 
as no settlement could be effected the two countries went to war with each 
other in 1825. Through the intervention of Great Britain a treaty of peace 
was concluded in 1828, the Seven Missions territory being ceded therein to 
Brazil, and the southern district declared an independent republic under the 
title of Republica del Uruguay Oriental. The constitution was adopted in 
183 1, and the young republic started on its career with a war with Buenos. 
Ayres, precipitated by the failure of an aspirant for the presidency of Uru- 
guay. Brazil interfered in behalf of Uruguay, and asking the co-operation of 
England and France, each of those countries blockaded Montevideo by turns 
till 1849, when treaties were signed which secured the recognition of Uruguay 
by the neighboring republics and nominally closed the strife; but peace was 
not established till 185 1. Brazil blockaded Montevideo in 1864, and forced the 
country to aid her in the war with Paraguay, and at the close of that struggle 
the country was rent with revolutions accompanied by assassinations, and it 
was not till 1870 that it began to enjoy the semblance of peace. 




CITY OF MONTEVIDEO. 

ONTEVIDEO, the capital and commercial metropolis of the repub- 
lic, is built on the north shore of the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, 
at its entrance into the Atlantic Ocean, and is in latitude 34° 53' 
south, and longitude 56° 16' west. It is on a small promontory which forms 
the eastern shore of its harbor, the western consisting of another projecting 
point connected with a hill 463 feet high, from which the city has derived its 
name. Opposite the city the river is seventy miles wide; the harbor is over 
four miles long and over two wide. The city is well built, with wide, straight, 
paved streets that intersect each other, and tasteful houses with flat roofs and 
picturesque parapets. It has a cathedral, dedicated to the apostles San Felipe 
and San Jago, and noted for its grand facade, which displays a great portal 
composed of three round arches and flanked by two cupola-crowned towers. 
The government buildings, president's palace, three other Roman Catholic 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 683 

churches, a Protestant church connected with tlie British consulate and built in 
1846, and a Methodist mission chapel, are prominent among the public build- 
ings. During the sway of General Rosas in Buenos Ayres it suffered greatly 
in its commerce and otherwise by the long irregular siege it sustained, and 
which terminated only on the downfall of that agitator. Its commerce has 
rapidly increased since 1870, and during the years 1877-81 its exports 
amounted in value to $11,515,305, and its imports to $17,339,985. The chief 
articles of export are cattle, hides, tallow, and dried and preserved meats. 
The city was founded in 17T7, and had a population in 1884 of 104,472. 




GUIANA. 

HIS extensive territory, divided politically between Brazil, Ven- 
ezuela, Great Britain, France, and the Netherlands, is situated in 
H the northeastern part of South America, between latitude 8^" 40' 
north and 3° 30' south, and longitude 50"^ and 68° west, and is bounded by 
the Atlantic Ocean and the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. Its extreme length 
from east to west is about 1,200 miles, its greatest breadth 800, and its esti- 
mated area 600,000 square miles. The first two divisions, comprising about 
five-sixths of the entire territory, are provinces of Brazil and Venezuela re- 
spectively; the others are colonies known as British, Dutch, and French 
Guiana. 

The discovery of the territory has been claimed both for Vasco Nunez, 
who is said to have landed on the coast in 1504, and for Diego de Ordas, who 
subsequently accompanied Cortez in the conquest of Mexico. Some Dutch 
people are said to have made settlements near the river Pomeroon as early as 
1580; Sir Walter Raleigh sailed up the Orinoco in search of the coveted El 
Dorado in 1595; the Dutch possession was contested by the Spaniards; New 
Zealanders, English and French made settlements on the Essequibo and 
Surinam rivers between 1600 and 1650: and in 1669 the Dutch possessions 
covered all the region now belonging to British, Dutch, and French Guiana. 
The present division of this section was subsequentlv arranged between the 
three interested powers by treaty. The territory is watered by the Amazon, 
Orinoco, Essequibo, Demerara, Berbice, Corentin, Maroni, and Oyapok rivers 
and their affluents. The soil is fertile, the climate in general hot and moist, 
and the temperature averages 81^ F. The chief products are sugar, rum, and 



684 THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH AMERICA: 

molasses. The whole territory forms a forest-clad peninsula, on which grows 
a great variety and an enormous quantity of valuable woods. The most 
notable tree is the viii-a, which attains a height of 150 feet, and yields timber 
equal to that of the teak. The three eastern divisions of Guiana are the most 
important commercially as well as the best known. 



BRITISH GUIANA. 




HIS division occupies the western part of the territory between 
Venezuela and Dutch Guiana, from which it is separated by the 
Corentin River, and is intersected in its length by the Essequibo. 
It has an area of 86,000 square miles, and in 1884 had a population of 
264,473. The colony is subdivided into three departments, Essequibo, 
Demerara, and Berbice, is under the executive authority of a governor ap- 
pointed by the British crown, and has two important towns, Georgetown, the 
capital, with a population of 49,211, and New Amsterdam. The chief exports 
are sugar, rum, molasses, timber, shingles, and cotton; and imports, cotton 
goods, casks, machinery, beer and ale, iron, butter, and rice; these in 1885 
were valued at: exports, $8,610,160, imports, $7,970,240. The Church of 
England diocese of Guiana was established in 1842, and in 1880 had sixty- 
nine churches and chapels, with 90,000 communicants. The Church of Scot- 
land had ten ministers, the Wesleyan Methodist fourteen, and the Roman 
Catholics, Moravians, and Congregational Dissenters had several churches 
and mission stations each. The Church of England receives an annual grant 
from the public revenue of $50,000, the Church of Scotland, $25,000 and the 
Roman Catholic Church $12,500. The system of education is denomina- 
tional, and supported by public revenue. 



DUTCH GUIANA. 

HIS division, sometimes called Surinam from its main river, is the 
central one, and lies between the Corentin and Maroni rivers. Its 
area has been variously estimated at from 45,000 to 58,530 square 
miles, the greater portion of which has never been explored. The population 
was estimated at 69,329 in 1875, of whom between 6,000 and 7,000 were whites, 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 685 

17,000 Maroons, and 40,000 negroes, Paramaribo, ten miles from the mouth of 
the Surinam River, and with a population of 22,000, is the capital. The colony 
is divided into nine districts, and governed by a governor-general and a council 
of native freeholders as executives of an assembly partly appointed b}- the 
home government, and partly elected by citizens, who obtain the right of 
voting by the payment of a special tax. The imports are worth annually 
$1,600,000, and the exports, sugar, rum, molasses, coffee, and cotton, $1,200,000. 



FRENCH GUIANA. 




HE extreme eastern colony is the smallest of the three, and is also 
known as Cayenne, the name of an important island, the capital, 
and the port. The area is estimated at from 48,000 to 53,000 
square miles, and the population in 1877 at 36,750; greatest length of colony 
280 miles, greatest breadth 220. Owing to the prevailing trade winds, the 
heat is here less intense than in the British and Dutch portions. Hurricanes 
are unknown, but slight earthquakes have occurred in 182 1, 1843, ^'""cl 1877. 
Since 1870 gold washing has become the chief industry. The exports in the 
order of value are gold, coffee, sugar, rum, pepper, cabinet-woods, cotton, 
skins, india-rubber, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmegs. The government 
is vested in a governor and military commandant, an ordonnateur, a director 
of the interior, a procurator-general, a privy council, and a director of the 
penitentiary service, the island of Cayenne constituting a French penal 
establishment. There is a court of appeal and a tribunal of first instance, 
and justices of the peace are appointed for each of the cantons into which the 
colony is subdivided. Cayenne is administrated by a municipal council, and 
religious affairs, which are wholly of Roman Catholic connection, are under 
the authority of an apostolic prefect. The French first settled in the colony 
in 1604. In 1763 the government sent out 12.000 volunteer immigrants, and 
within two years all but 918 perished. Large numbers of political prisoners 
were transported thither during the French Revolution ; the colony was in- 
vaded by the British and Portuguese in 1809, and restored to France by 
treaty of 1814; and it was made a convict establishment in 1851. 




A CREOLE BEAUTY. 



THE 



Countries of Central America: 

THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 




HIS division of the America-n continent extends from Mexico to 
the Isthmus of Panama, and from the Caribbean Sea on the east 
to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its exact geographical location 
is between latitude 7° and 18° north, and longitude 81° and 93° west. For- 
merly it embraced Yucatan, now incorporated with Mexico, and Panama, 
now a part of the United States of Colombia, in South America. The country- 
was conquered by Don Pedro de Alvarado, an associate of Cortez, in 1525, 
and it remained a possession of Spain from that time till 1821, when the 
people secured their independence, and organized separate States, The union. 
of these in 1823 formed the Republic of the United States of Central America,^ 
which was dissolved in 1839, after a period of civil war, and since then each 
State has been independent, and recognized as a separate republic, though a 
movement was inaugurated in 1887 looking to the re-establishment of a federal 
government for all of them. 

The entire region is exceedingly mountainous. The plateau of Veragua 
has an elevation of 8,000 feet above the sea level in its highest part, those of 
Costa Rica and Castago are from 2,200 to 4,000 feet, the table-land of Hon- 
duras is 4,000 feet, and that of Guatemala 5,000; while here and there are 
peaks rising to a height of 10,000 feet and over. Of the numerous rivers, the 
Usamasinta and the San Juan are the largest. The latter is the outlet of 
Lake Nicaragua, a body of water covering an area of 3,400 square miles. On 
the east coast is the Gulf of Honduras, and on the Pacific are the Gulfs of 
Dulce, Nicoya, Fonseca, and Coronada Bay. A large portion of Central 
America consists of land of remarkable fertility; agriculture is extensively 
pursued but in rather a primitive manner; and almost all kinds of crops could 



-688 THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA: 

be cultivated profitably with improved seed and modern implements. There 
are numerous mines of gold, silver, copper, zinc, and other valuable minerals; 
but, like agriculture, they are still awaiting the spirit of enterprise that shall 
develop them as they deserve. Under the disadvantages of inappreciation and 
lack of facilities, the productive wealth of the entire section is practically 
limited to cabinet-woods, cotton, cofiee, sugar, cochineal, indigo, cocoa, 
■sarsaparilla, and tobacco. The prevailing form of religion is the Roman 
Catholic, which was introduced when the whole territory was one state under 
the Spanish crown, and known as the kingdom of Guatemala. Protestantism, 
however, has been permitted to achieve considerable progress. Each state 
maintains a small standing army, is terribly in debt, and has experienced the 
ill effects of earthquakes, revolutions, and serious political disturbances. In 
1886 the entire area was estimated at 189,689 square miles, and the popula- 
tion at 2,793,723. The republics were five in number, Guatemala, San Sal- 
vador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. 



THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA. 



HIS is the most northerly of the Central American states, and the 
most populous. Under the Spanish occupation it embraced the 
whole of the Central American territory; it was a part of the 
-confederation for eighteen years; established itself as an independent republic 
in 1839; adopted its constitution in 1859; ^^^ revised it in 1879. ^^^ area in 
1886 was 44,800 square miles, and its population 1,322,544. The capital was 
New Guatemala. The executive authority was vested in a president elected 
for six years ; the legislative in a national assembly whose members are elected 
for the same period. The president was assisted by a cabinet of four ministers, 
and the " Sociedad Economica," a Spanish institution dating from 1795. 
The republic has an admirable educational system, which receives the zealous 
care and liberal support of the administration. In 1880 there were 666 public 
schools, with 32,786 attendants, beside a number of night schools maintained 
by the government and the several municipal authorities, and many private 
institutions for all classes. The government and municipal aid in that year 
amounted to $216783. Among the institutions of note are several high and 
normal schools, engineering, medical, and pharmaceutical colleges, legal, com- 
mercial, agricultural, musical, and telegraphic schools, art and mechanical 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 689 

academies, and an asylum for the education of the deaf and dumb. The 
National Institute of Technology, established at Quezaltenango in 1871, has 
already achieved a grand success and influence, and the Belen Female College,, 
opened in the capital city in 1876, bids fair to become the Central American 
Vassar. The railroad and telegraphic service of Guatemala is fa>r ahead of 
that of the other republics, and is being extended rapidly in order to facilitate 
the development of mineral and agricultural resources. Rich mines of gold, 
silver, and iron have been discovered, that will justify a judicious expenditure 
to render them accessible. In 1885 the public revenues amounted to $8,518,- 
947, one-third of which was from duties on imports, and the expenditures to 
$8,397,550; the public debt aggregated $10,705,581 ; the imports were valued 
at $3,788,134, and the exports, chiefly coffee, $5,520,330. There were ii2: 
miles of railroad, and 1,801 miles of telegraph lines in operation. 






CITY OF NEW GUATEMALA. 

EW GUATEMALA, the first capital of the republic, now known as 
Old Guatemala, was founded by Alvarado in 1524, constituted a 
Roman Catholic bishop's see in 1533, destroyed by a deluge of 
water from the volcano de Agua in 1541, and almost wholly destroyed by an 
earthquake in 1773. It subsequently suffered severely from eruptions of the 
volcanoes of Agua and Fuego, and in 1799 the rebuilding of the city was be- 
gun. In its day it was a very important and interesting place, and contained 
many buildings of great solidity, extent, and architectural beauty. The ruin-s 
of the old cathedral show a length of 300 feet, a width of 120, and a height 
of 70, and the remains of fifty large windows. The old city had a population 
in 1885 of 20,000. The new capital city was built thirty miles east of its un- 
fortunate predecessor, at an elevation of nearly 5,000 feet above the sea level, 
and between the two volcanoes just mentioned. It was laid out in streets forty 
feet wide, and provided with numerous public squares, drinking fountains, and 
statues of noted men. Around the main square, which is 625 feet long and 
535 wide, are grouped the cathedral, built in 1780, the archbishop's palace, 
the government palaces, the ministerial ofiices, the mint, the city hall, and a 
row of business houses. Beside the buildings already mentioned there are 
twenty-four other churches, a hospital, and a penitentiary, spacious military 
barracks, a theatre that co.st $200,000, a fine post-ofifice, a large hotel con- 



690 THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA: 

ducted on the American plan, and many imposing and elegantly furnished 
private residences. The city is the see of a Roman Catholic archbishop, and 
had a population in 1886 of 58,456. San Jose de Guatemala is the principal 
port of the Republic with regard to importations; and Champerico, the 
most northern of the coffee-shipping ports of Central America and the largest, 
is the chief exporting station. • 



THE REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. 




HIS is the smallest of the republics in point of area, and the second 
largest in point of population. It is bounded on the north by 
Honduras, on the east by the Bay of Fonseca, on the south by the 
Pacific Ocean, and on the west by Guatemala. Its area was estimated in 1886 
at 7,226 square miles, and its population at 634,120. The country is traversed 
through its whole extent by a range of volcanic mountains, which have two 
peaks, San Vicente and San Salvador, with an elevation of over 9,000 feet. 
Within the boundaries of the republic, this range presents sixteen peaks which 
are still of an active volcanic character. Although generally mountainous, 
the country has a number of table-lands and plateaus of fertile soil on which 
agriculture is largely and quite successfully pursued. Beside the cereals 
needed for domestic consumption the chief product for export is indigo. 

There are vast tracts of dense forest which yield excellent commercial 
timber, a greatly appreciated quality of cedar, and a quantity of Peruvian 
balsam, averaging 20,000 pounds per annum. The executive authority is 
vested by the constitution in a president elected for four years, who has a 
cabinet of five ministers; and the legislative in a congress comprising a senate 
of twelve members and a chamber of deputies of twenty-four, elected for 
two years. The people are more inclined to modern pursuits than those of 
neighboring states; and beside agriculture are largely engaged in various 
branches of manufactures. Within the last ten years they have also made con- 
siderable progress in developing a number of rich iron mines. All forms of 
religion are permitted by the constitution, though the Roman Catholic has 
the largest number of adherents. Education is highly esteemed, and is pro- 
moted by the government to the extent of its ability. The public revenue of 
the republic in 1887 was $4,315,145, the national expenditures were $4,291,850, 
the aggregate debt was $4,750,000, the exports (1884) were valued at $6,065,- 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 691 

799, and the imports $2,646,628. The finances of the country, therefore, 
were in a much better condition than those of its larger neighbors territorially. 
Upon the dissolution of the Central American federation, Salvador maintained 
a union with Honduras and Nicaragua till 1853, when it established itself as 
an independent State. 




CITY OF NUEVA SAN SALVADOR. 

UEVA SAN SALVADOR, the capital, is built in a beautiful valley 
at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet above the sea level, and is five 
miles from La Libertad, its port. It rests at the base of the volcano 
of the same name, and, though entirely destroyed by an earthquake on April 
15th, 1854, was rebuilt on the same site. It has the usual complement of 
public, ecclesiastical, educational, and charitable buildings; its edifices are 
well built, and, as in all countries liable to earthquakes, are seldom over two 
stories in height; and the population was estimated in 1886 at 16,000. In 
>colloquial usage the ** San," in the name of the republic and the capital, is 
generally omitted. 



THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 




HE third republic in point of population is situated between latitude 
13° 10' and 16° 5' north and is bounded on the north and east by 
the Caribbean Sea, on the south by Nicaragua, and on the west 
by San Salvador and Guatemala. It has a coast line of fifty miles on the 
Pacific Ocean, and of over 400 on the Caribbean Sea. Its area in 1887 was 
estimated at 39,600 square miles, and its population at 331,917. Honduras 
is the most mountainous region of all Central America. The Andes cross the 
entire territory from northwest to southeast, leaving a belt between them 
and the Pacific Ocean from fifty to sixty miles wide, and throwing out long 
branches nortli, east, and south. These include the Sierra de Copan, the Mer- 
•enden, the Esperito Santo, the Omoa, the Selaque the Montecillos, the Mis- 
oco, the Lepaterique. the Comajagua, the San Mareos, and the Macuelizo. The 
table-lands formed by these ranges and branches are among the highest 
known; the Tegucigalpa being 3,500 feet above sea level, Santa Rosa and 
.Santa Cruz each 3,200, Siguatepegre 6,000, Olancho 9,000, Yutibuca 9,500, and 



692 THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA: 

Juticalpa 10,000. The chief rivers are the Chamelecon, Ulua, Aguau, Blacky 
Patuca, Segovia, Guayape, Choluteca, and Goascaran. The most remarkable 
inland lake is Yojoa, in a beautiful valley, surrounded by high mountains and 
having a length of forty-two and a width of twelve miles. Nearly all these 
watercourses are navigable by boats of light draught, and many of them flow 
over gold-bearing sand. 

For administrative purposes the republic is divided into the following- 
departments: Comayagua, Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, Santa Barbara, Gracias, 
Copan, Yoro, El Parais, Olancho, Bay Islands, and Mosquitia. The principal 
ports on the Caribbean Sea are Omoa, Trujillo, and Puerto Cortes, all of 
which have commodious and safe harbors, and the best harbor on the Pacific 
is that of Amapala, on the Bay of Fonseca. The republic is governed by a 
president with a cabinet of six ministers, and an assembly of forty-two repre- 
sentatives. Honduras chiefly exports gold bullion, indigo, cattle, timber, 
hides, and tobacco, of an average annual value of $1,300,000, and its lead- 
ing imports are cotton and silk fabrics from England and cutlery and ma- 
chinery from the United States. The public revenue in 1886 was $1,420,860, 
one-third derived from customs duties and another third from government 
monopolies; the expenditures were about the same; the national debt was 
$31,000,000; and the total value of exports was $1,605,000. There were sixty- 
nine miles of railroad, and 1,338 miles of telegraph lines in operation. Recent 
trade with the United States is thus shown: exports (1886) $730,559; (1887) 
$857,919; (1888) $957,331; imports (1886) $428,104; (1887) $425,741; (1888) 
$672,796. Honduras was discovered by Columbus August 14th, 1502, and 
conquered by Cortes. Under Spanish rule it grew rapidly, and many thrifty 
cities were founded. In 1823 it declared its independence of Spain, became 
a member of the federation of Central America, and for a while after the 
dissolution in 1839 formed a union with San Salvador and Nicaragua. The 
country is rich in archaeological treasures and Toltec history. 



CITY OF TEGUCIGALPA. 




EGUCIGALPA, the capital, in the department of the same name, 
is one of the most important centres of population, richness, and 
production in the republic. It is situated on a plain 3,000 feet 
above the sea level, and is watered by the picturesque Choluteca River. In 
this department are found the renowned mines of Yuscaran, San Antonia, 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 693 

Santa Lucia, and San Juan de Cantarranas. Mount Agalteca in the north- 
western part of the department is a huge mass of pure iron metal. The capital 
city is on the right bank of the river, surrounded by steep mountains; its 
streets are regularly laid out, and neatly paved ; and its houses are built almost 
wholly of stone, and with considerable architectural taste. It has six 
churches, including a substantial and handsomely decorated cathedral, a uni- 
versity founded in 1847, ^ mint, the official residence of the president, gov- 
ernment buildings, the palace of the Roman Catholic bishop of the depart- 
ment diocese and the National Academy of Science and Art, opened 1888. 
The city is connected with the town of Comayaguela, on the opposite side of 
the river, by a stone bridge with ten arches. Its business is transacted through 
the ports of Omoa and Trujillo, on the Caribbean coast, and through Amalpa, 
'On the Pacific, The population in 1887 was estimated at 15,000, and was 
rapidly increasing for Central America, 



THE REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA. 



HE second state of Central America in point of area, though gener- 
ally accounted the first, embraces the territory between latitude 
10° 45' and 14° 55' north, and longitude 83° 15' and 87° 38' west, 
•and is bounded on the north by Honduras, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, 
-on the south by Costa Rica, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its area 
was estimated in 1886 at 58,000 square miles — 168 less than that of Honduras, 
the largest state, and its population at 300,000, In public circles it is the best 
known and most studied of Central American states, because its natural water 
• courses almost bisect the American continent, and indicate an admirable 
location for a ship-canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which 
has been the dream of navigators for nearly a century. 

In 1850 the governments of the United States and Great Britain concluded 
a treaty by which they agreed to co-operate in the establishment of a secure 
and neutral line of communication between the two seas by way of the San 
Juan River and Lake Nicaragua, to be open on equal terms to all nations, 
■with a free port at each end of the line. An American company was formed 
for constructing a canal and operating a line of steamships. Concessions 
were freely granted by the various administrations of Nicaragua; survey after 
:survey was made by parties who became interested in the general scheme; 



€94 THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA: 

the United States government had the whole region between the two oceans^ 
examined many times by its best naval engineers; but up to the beginning 
of 1888 the actual construction of the much-desired canal was still a work o£ 
the future. 

Previous to 1850 communication had been maintained between the Atlan- 
tic and the towns of Grenada and Nicaragua by means of flat-bottomed 
boats. The passage was made from Grenada to San Juan, or Greytown, in 
about eight days, while the return passage, being against the stream, occupied 
from twelve to fifteen. Subsequently the Nicaragua Transit Company oper- 
ated a route which involved but twelve miles of land carriage, and that over 
a good macadamized road. During the early part of 1888 the corps of United 
States engineers, which had for some time been making most detailed surveys 
and observations to fix the axial location of the purposed interoceanic canal, 
consolidated their reports and presented to the public in July what may be 
considered the most thorough and scientific plan for solving the great problem.. 
The reports favored the 'upper location, and according to them the canal 
would extend from the roadstead of Brito on the Pacific, to the harbor of 
Greytown on the Atlantic, in all a distance of 169.8 miles. Of this 139.9 would 
be slack-water navigation through the basins of the rivers Deseado, San, 
Francisco, San Juan, Lajas, Rio Grande, and Lake Nicaragua, leaving only 
29.9 miles of actual excavation to be made. The canal would be eighty feet 
wide at the bottom in deep cuts, and 120 feet in terminal ones and other 
enlarged sections. At the surface of the water the width would be eighty 
feet in deep rock cuts, and from 180 to 340 feet at other points. The esti- 
mated time of transit from ocean to ocean, on the basis of a speed of five 
miles per hour in the canal proper, eight to ten miles per hour in the river and 
lake, and forty-five minutes detention at each of the five locks, would be twenty- 
eight hours. The total cost was estimated at $50,000,000. Preliminary work 
on the restoration and improvement of Greytown harbor was in progress, and 
work on the construction of the canal proper was begun in the summer of 
1889. 

The principal rivers of Nicaragua are the Segovia and the San Juan ; the 
former forms the northern boundary, and the latter the southern. The San 
Juan is the only channel by which Lake Nicaragua discharges its waters intO' 
the Atlantic. The lake is 100 miles long and about forty miles broad, and is 
the reservoir of a great extent of mountainous country. It contains several 
islands, among which Omotepec is remarkable for a high volcano and for its 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 695 

fertility, and was long the abode of an industrious tribe of Indians. Lake 
Managua empties into Lake Nicaragua through the river Tipi Tapi ; the 
rivers Malacatoya, Rio de Punta Tule, Gil Gonzales, Las Lajas, and Ocho 
Mogo, empty into Lake Nicaragua; and the Sabalo, San Carlos, and Serapa- 
qui, rising in Costa Rica, empty into the San Juan. Upper Nicaragua, where 
the lakes are situated, has a regular rainy and dry season, and lower or eastern 
Nicaragua, which includes Greytown and nearly all the San Juan region, has 
the climate of the Caribbean Sea, where it rains every month in the year. 
The departments of Segovia, Matagalpa, Chotales, and Mosquito, in eastern 
Nicaragua, are munificently endowed by nature. Forests of logwood, morau, 
mahogany, and various cabinet woods abound: large deposits of caoutchouc 
gum are a source of considerable wealth ; the mountains of Chontales contain 
gold, both placer, mining, and quartz ; and those of Segovia extensive veins 
of silver. The soil of the republic is in general very fertile ; the chief agri- 
cultural industries are the cultivation of coffee, cocoa, indigo, cotton, maize, 
and fruits. Cattle are among the principal sources of wealth, very large 
numbers of them being kept on the plains along the eastern sides of the lakes. 
The manufactures are almost wholly confined to articles required for home 
use, and are chiefly coarse cotton and woollen cloths, the former being dyed 
a purple color, by means of a shell fish caught in the vicinity of San Juan 
del Sur. 

The republic is politically divided into five departments, Segovia com- 
prising the northeastern part, Leon the north and northwestern, Managua the 
district south of Leon, Granada that south of Managua, and Nicaragua the 
most southern part bordering on Costa Rica. The capitals bear the depart- 
ment names. Segovia is in a healthy and fertile region, and has a large- 
amount of undeveloped mineral wealth ; Leon, the former capital of the re- 
public, is on the road which leads from the best cultivated district of the 
republic to the harbor of Reaiejo, contains a cathedral, several churches, a 
university and a college, and has suffered greatly from political disturbances; 
Monagua is on the south bank of the lake of that name, is surrounded by 
rich coffee plantations, has a number of manufactories, and in 1889 was the 
capital of the republic, with an estimated population of 12,000; Granada, 
on the northwestern bank of Lake Nicaragua, has a considerable trade through 
the river and harbor of the San Juan, and contains several churches and con- 
vents; and Nicaragua is about two miles from the west bank of Lake Nicara- 
gua, and is surrounded by a district noted for its fertility, especially in cacao 



696 THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

and grapes. The modern Greytown, the Atlantic terminus of the proposed 
inter-oceanic canal, has been known as San Juan del Nicaragua, and was the 
chief trading town of the former Mosquito kingdom, on the Caribbean coast, 
of which Blewfields was the capital. Greytown was almost entirely destroyed 
by United States war vessels on July 12th, 1854, but it was subsequently 
rebuilt and improved. It has a natural harbor of considerable extent and 
large commercial importance. 

Nicaragua is governed by a president elected for four years, who has a 
cabinet of four ministers. The legislative authority is vested in a congress 
comprising a senate of ten members and an assembly of eleven representa- 
tives. The chief exports are gold and silver bullion, cofTee, hides, and cabinet 
woods. The public revenue in 1887 was $3,393,295, and the expenditures were 
larger; the exports were valued at $5,781,850 and the imports $3,982,^40. 

The territory along the Caribbean Sea constituted the Indian kingdom of 
Mosquito or Mosquitia; the first settlement of Englishmen on the coast was 
made in 1730, when families settled at Cape Gracias a Dios on Black River 
and at the mouth of Blewfields River. In 1813, when Central America secured 
its independence from Spain, Nicaragua claimed the Mosquito territory, the 
king appealed to Great Britain, who rejected the claims and guaranteed the 
sovereignty of the coast to the king. The United States protested against 
the English protectorate and refused to acknowledge it. In 1850, in the 
treaty between the United States and Great Britain, already mentioned, the 
latter abandoned the protectorate, the king of Mosquito was thrown upon his 
own resources, and before long his territory was merged with that of Nica- 
ragua. The republic was the scene of the chief operations of William Walker, 
the American filibuster, in 1854, '55, '56, '57, and '60. 



THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA 




HE most southerly state in Central America extends entirely 
across the isthmus, lies between latitude 8° and 11° 30' north, 
and longitude 83"^ and 85° 40' west; is bounded on the north by 
Nicaragua, on the east by the Mosquito Gulf, on the south by the Isthmus of 
Panama and the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by the Atlantic ; and 
had an estimated area in 1886 of 21,495 square miles and a population of 213,- 



THEIR CAPITALS AND SEAPORTS. 697 

785. The surface of the country comprises for the most part a table-land, 
with an elevation of over 2,000 feet above sea level. From the range of the 
Cabe^ares Mountains in Veragua, east of the plain of Chiriqui, there stretches 
a considerable number of mountain peaks, many of them of considerable 
height, and a large part of them volcanic. Some of them attain an elevation 
of 10,000 feet, and one, the volcano of Cartago, is said to be 11,480 feet high. 
Toward the Gulf the descent is very abrupt, but on the Pacific side it is quite 
gradual. The only important river is the San Juan, common to it and Nica- 
ragua; the Pacific portion has the Estrella, Arena, and Baranca, all with a 
short course. The climate is more regular and healthy than in other parts of 
Central America, the thermometer seldom rising above 85° nor falling below 
65° F. 

The soil is of varied quality, but in many parts highly productive. On 
the more elevated districts there are few forests, but on the lower declivities 
and particularly along the eastern coast they are very abundant, and yield a 
large quantity of Brazil wood, mahogany, and cedar for export. Coffee is 
the staple product, though considerable quantities of wheat, maize, sugar, 
tobacco, and indigo are raised and find a ready sale. Fruits and vegetables 
are largely cultivated for home consumption, and cattle, horses, mules, sheep, 
swine, and poultry are raised in great numbers. Costa Rica has three consider- 
able gulfs, that of Chiriqui on the Pacific side and those of Nicoya and Dulce 
on the Atlantic. Large gold mines exist near the Gulf of Nicoya, and valu- 
able veins of silver, copper, and coal elsewhere. 

The republic is divided politically into six provinces, San Jose, Cartago,, 
Heredia, Alajuela, Guanaceute, and Punta de Arenas. The executive au- 
thority is vested in a president, formerly elected for six years, but now for 
four, two vice-presidents, and a cabinet of four ministers; the legislative in 
a congress of deputies also chosen for four years. The public revenue for 
1886 amounted to $2,387,290, one-third of which was from the government 
monopoly on tobacco and brandy, and the rest from custom duties and a vari- 
ety of taxes; and the expenditures to $3,088,944; the debt was $11,942,076; 
the imports $3,661,000, and the exports $3,297,000. The Roman Catholic is 
the established religion, but other forms of worship are permitted. The 
church is presided over by the Bishop of San Jose, and the chief court of 
justice is the Tribunal of San Jose, over which seven judges preside. The 
white inhabitants of the republic are relatively more numerous in Costa Rica 
than in the other republics of Central America ; the eastern side of the country 



698 THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

is mainly occupied by Indians, while on the western side of the table-land 
are large numbers of ladinos or mulattoes. The country formed a part of the 
kingdom of Guatemala during the Spanish occupation, and for two years 
after the declaration of independence was united to the Mexican kingdom of 
Iturbide ; but in 1823 it joined the federation of Central America. On the 
dissolution of that union it established itself as an independent State, In 
1882 the towns of Alajuela, San Ramon, Grecia, and Heredia were nearly 
destroyed by an earthquake, which caused a loss of several thousand lives. 
In 1886 there were 170 miles of railroad and 451 of telegraph lines in opera- 
tion in the country. 




CITY OF SAN JOSE. 

AN JOSE, the capital of the republic, is on a table-land, 4,500 feet 
above sea level, in latitude 10° 56' north, and longitude 83° 45' 
west. It is about fifteen miles northwest of Cartago, the former 
capital, and is connected with Punta Arenas, its seaport, by a carriage road. 
It is a modern city, having been built since the separation from Spain, and 
contains the government buildings, legislative halls, courts of justice, palace 
of the Roman Catholic bishop, and a population (1886) of 26,000. Prior to the 
great earthquake, Alajuela was the second place of importance in the republic, 
with a population of nearly 8,000. It was at the terminus of the railroad that 
started from Cartago, near the centre of the country, ran northwest for twenty 
miles to San Jose, then nearly west for ten miles to Heredia, and then south- 
west ten miles to its other terminus. The town was well built, all the houses 
being one story in height and made of adobe, most of them having tile roofs. 
It was surrounded by rich coffee plantations that extended as far as Heredia, 
which had a population of 6,000. Alajuela stood nearly midway between San 
Jose and Punta de Arenas, Cartago is at the base of the volcano of the same 
name, and was formerly not only the capital of the republic but a place of 
much commercial importance. In 1841 it was almost entirely destroyed by 
an earthquake, which ruined seven of its eight churches and nearly 3,000 houses. 



